To the extent that any of the prison's asserted justifications are legitimate, they are not warranted in this instance because less restrictive alternatives are available to the state. Prison authorities may simply keep the controversial items in a safe location, and make them available to the plaintiff at reasonable intervals as plaintiff may require them, and under such supervision as the defendant believes is necessary to promote prison security. As this quotation illustrates, the legal predicate for the district court's injunction is the court's perception that the prison authorities had a duty to impose the least restrictive alternatives to satisfy the need for security. The least restrictive means test is appropriate for most encounters between state regulations and first amendment claims. But the least restrictive means test is not an appropriate measure of a prisoner's first amendment rights.
Prisoners retain the right to freedom of religion.
There is no substantial evidence indicating that prison officials exaggerate the difficulties in supervising individual inmates' use of contraband articles in religious rites. Although clergy may use candles during religious services in the prison, no prisoners, not even those participating in conventional religious services, are allowed to possess them. The decision to prohibit Dettmer from possessing the items that he sought did not discriminate against him because of his unconventional beliefs. The restrictions imposed on Dettmer must be viewed in context of the accommodations officials have made to allow him to observe his religious beliefs. Considered in this manner, the restrictions do not infringe the rights secured to him by the first and fourteenth amendments.