Opinion ID: 2606
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Native American and Muslim Religious Interests

Text: We conclude that the testimony regarding Fell's interest in Native American and Muslim religions was relevant in the context in which the testimony was elicited. Fell undertook to prove the following mitigating factor: Donald Fell has made positive contributions to the Northwest Correctional Facility by working, gaining an education, and helping to resolve inmate grievances. In support of this factor, Rushlow testified that Fell was picked by management to act as a unit representative for other inmates, took part in Bible study and other educational opportunities, and had a disciplinary record reasonably free of infractions. However, on cross-examination, Rushlow retreated from several of his prior assertions. He conceded that Fell did not resolve inmate grievances but instead manufactured grievances based on his purported religious beliefs. The government also showed that while Fell participated in Bible studies, he simultaneously filed grievances and a lawsuit demanding that sweat lodges and talking circles be made available in the prison so that he could engage in Native American religious practices. During that same period, Fell also participated in Ramadan. The government elicited testimony that Fell was appointed unit manager in part because his familiarity with the administrative procedures, due to his constant filing of complaints, made it easier to have the other inmates funnel their grievances through him. The jury was free to find that Fell had successfully adjusted to prison, was genuinely interested in several religions, and filed grievances for entirely legitimate purposes. By the same token, the jury was also free to find that Fell's interest in multiple religions was cynical or feigned and that his multiple grievances reflected a failure to adjust to incarceration. Contrary to Fell's contention that the evidence was intended to incite religious prejudice, the testimony was reasonably elicited to present a more complete picture of Fell that belied the one of a well-adjusted inmate offered by the defense. In any event, the evidence played a very minor role in the trial and added little to the quantum of evidence before the jury. We see no error and certainly no plain error in its admission.