Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/14pdf/13-6827_5h26.pdf
Page Number: 16.0

Cite as:  574 U. S. ____ (2015) 

13 

Opinion of the Court 

the  Department  suggested  at  oral  argument  that  a  pris- 
oner  could  gain  entry  to  a  restricted  area  by  shaving
his  beard  and  swapping  identification  cards  with  an-
other inmate while out in the fields.  Tr. of Oral Arg. 28–30, 
39–43. 

We are unpersuaded by these arguments for at least two 
reasons.  First, the Department failed to show, in the face
of petitioner’s evidence, that its prison system is so differ-
ent from the many institutions that allow facial hair that 
the  dual-photo  method  cannot  be  employed  at  its  institu-
tions.  Second, the Department failed to establish why the
risk that a prisoner will shave a  1⁄2-inch beard to disguise 
himself  is  so  great  that  1⁄2-inch  beards  cannot  be  allowed, 
even  though  prisoners  are  allowed  to  grow  mustaches, 
head  hair,  or  1⁄4-inch  beards  for  medical  reasons.    All  of 
these  could  also  be  shaved  off  at  a  moment’s  notice,  but 
the Department apparently does not think that this possi-
bility raises a serious security concern. 

C 
In  addition  to  its  failure  to  prove  that  petitioner’s  pro-
posed alternatives would not sufficiently serve its security 
interests,  the  Department  has  not  provided  an  adequate 
response  to  two  additional  arguments  that  implicate  the
RLUIPA analysis. 

First, the Department has not adequately demonstrated 
why its grooming policy is substantially underinclusive in 
at  least  two  respects.  Although  the  Department  denied
petitioner’s  request  to  grow  a  1⁄2-inch  beard,  it  permits
prisoners  with  a  dermatological  condition  to  grow  1⁄4-inch 
beards.  The  Department  does  this  even  though  both
beards  pose  similar  risks.  And  the  Department  permits
inmates  to  grow  more  than  a  1⁄2-inch  of  hair  on  their 
heads.  With  respect  to  hair  length,  the  grooming  policy
provides only that hair must be worn “above the ear” and 
“no longer in the back than the middle of the nape of the