Opinion ID: 784143
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The effect of RLUIPA

Text: 26 The effect prong [of the Lemon test] asks whether, irrespective of government's actual purpose, the practice under review in fact conveys a message of endorsement or disapproval. Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668, 690, 104 S.Ct. 1355, 79 L.Ed.2d 604 (1984) (O'Connor, J., concurring). In evaluating this prong, the two most relevant factors are (1) whether a particular government action benefits both secular and religious entities, and (2) whether the action will induce religious exercise, rather than only protecting it. See Ghashiyah, 250 F.Supp.2d at 1025-26 (collecting authorities that have used these factors in Establishment Clause cases). Applying these factors to the present case demonstrates that RLUIPA has the effect of impermissibly advancing religion by giving greater protection to religious rights than to other constitutionally protected rights. 27 Prior to RLUIPA, restrictions imposed by prison officials upon inmates' fundamental rights were subject to a rational-relationship review, see Turner, 482 U.S. 78, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64; O'Lone, 482 U.S. 342, 107 S.Ct. 2400, 96 L.Ed.2d 282, which requires courts to consider: (1) whether there is a valid, rational connection between the prison regulation and a legitimate government interest; (2) whether inmates have alternative means of exercising the right in question; (3) the impact of a requested accommodation of the right upon guards and other inmates; and (4) the absence of alternatives to the regulation. Turner, 482 U.S. at 89-90, 107 S.Ct. 2254. The rational-relationship test has been applied to claimed violations of various fundamental rights, including the right to the free exercise of religion, O'Lone, 482 U.S. 342, 107 S.Ct. 2400, 96 L.Ed.2d 282, the right to freedom of speech, Amatel v. Reno, 156 F.3d 192 (D.C.Cir.1998), the right to marry, Turner, 482 U.S. 78, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64, the right to privacy, Oliver v. Scott, 276 F.3d 736 (5th Cir.2002), the right to meaningful access to the courts, Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 116 S.Ct. 2174, 135 L.Ed.2d 606 (1996), and the right to be free from racial discrimination, Morrison v. Garraghty, 239 F.3d 648 (4th Cir.2001). 28 In contrast to the highly deferential rational-relationship test, RLUIPA requires courts to apply strict scrutiny to all substantial burdens upon the free exercise of religion. Madison eloquently explained the dramatic changes imposed by RLUIPA: 29 Under RLUIPA, prison regulations that substantially burden religious belief, including those that are generally applicable and facially neutral, are judged under a strict scrutiny standard, requiring prison officials, rather than the inmate, to bear the burden of proof that the regulation furthers a compelling penological interest and is the least restrictive means of satisfying this interest. 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1. As is well known from the history of constitutional law, the change that RLUIPA imposes is revolutionary, switching from a scheme of deference to one of presumptive unconstitutionality. See Smith, 494 U.S. at 888, 110 S.Ct. 1595. Instead of rational, the penological interest under RLUIPA must be of the highest order, see Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 215, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972); Jenkins v. Angelone, 948 F.Supp. 543, 546 (E.D.Va.1996); instead of focusing on the prison inmate's ability to find other avenues to exercise his belief, a court is required to focus on the prison administrator's choice among regulatory options, see 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1(a)(2); instead of placing the burden of proof on an inmate, RLUIPA throws the burden on prison officials, see id. § 2000cc-1(a). It is hard to imagine a greater reversal of fortunes for the religious rights of inmates than the one involved in the passage of RLUIPA. 30 240 F.Supp.2d at 575. 31 RLUIPA's enhanced protection for religious rights might not violate the First Amendment requirement of neutrality if Congress had enacted RLUIPA based upon evidence that religious rights are at greater risk of deprivation in the prison system than other fundamental rights. The exemption in Amos, for example, had the effect of maintaining congressional neutrality toward religion because Title VII's prohibitions on hiring or firing on the basis of religion had a much greater negative impact on the purpose and mission of a religious organization in comparison to the effect of the prohibitions on a secular institution. Madison, 240 F.Supp.2d at 577 n. 9. In contrast, Congress enacted RLUIPA [i]n the absence of any proof that religious rights are more at risk in prison than other fundamental rights, with the knowledge that strict scrutiny is not required to protect the religious belief of prisoners under the Free Exercise Clause, Madison, 240 F.Supp.2d at 576, and with the knowledge that prisoners already have a remedy for violations of their constitutional rights. Such an action, while labeled a neutral `accommodation,' is not in fact neutral at all, and the Court is not allowed to defer to the mere characterization of RLUIPA as such. Id. at 576; see also Ghashiyah, 250 F.Supp.2d at 1027 (The effect [of RLUIPA], therefore, is to provide greater protection to religiously motivated conduct than other conscientious conduct.). 32 Although the supporters of RLUIPA stated that some institutions restrict religious liberty in egregious and unnecessary ways, see Statements of Senators Hatch and Kennedy, 146 Cong. Rec. S7774-01, S7775 (2000), RLUIPA supporters offered no evidence that inmates' other constitutional rights are not similarly threatened by prison administrators, Madison, 240 F.Supp.2d at 575. And if prison officials in fact restrict religious liberty [or other fundamental rights] in egregious and arbitrary ways, prisoners already have a remedy under Turner and O'Lone, which require prison policies to be legitimate and neutral, Turner, 482 U.S. at 90, 107 S.Ct. 2254, and which held that strict scrutiny is not necessary to protect the religious rights of prisoners. Ghashiyah, 250 F.Supp.2d at 1031 (noting that O'Lone already provides prisoners a remedy for violations of their religious rights). 33 Madison provides an excellent illustration of the effect of RLUIPA upon the rights of prisoners: 34 Assume, for example, that a prison official confiscates white supremacist literature held by two different inmates. One inmate is a member of the Aryan Nation solely because of his fanatical belief that a secret Jewish conspiracy exists to control the world. The second inmate holds the white supremacist literature because he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, Aryan Nation (CJCC). The non-religious inmate may challenge the confiscation as a violation of his rights to free expression and free association. A court would evaluate these claims under the deferential rational relationship test in Turner, placing a high burden of proof on the inmate and leaving the inmate with correspondingly dim prospects of success. However, the religious inmate, as a member of the CJCC, may assert a RLUIPA claim, arguing that the confiscation places a substantial burden on his religious exercise. The religious white supremacist now has a much better chance of success than the non-religious white supremacist, as prison officials bear the burden of proving that the prison policy satisfies a compelling interest and is the least restrictive means of satisfying the interest. The difference in the level of protection provided to each claim lies not in the relative merits of the claims, but lies instead in the basis of one claim in religious belief. 35 240 F.Supp.2d at 576 (internal citations omitted). As this example illustrates, the primary effect of RLUIPA is not simply to accommodate the exercise of religion by individual prisoners, but to advance religion generally by giving religious prisoners rights superior to those of nonreligious prisoners. When Congress acts to lift the limitations on one right while ignoring all others, it abandons neutrality towards these rights, placing its power behind one system of belief. When the one system of belief protected is religious belief, Congress has violated the basic requirement of neutrality embodied in the Establishment Clause. Madison, 240 F.Supp.2d at 577 (internal citations omitted). 36 In addition to its message of endorsement, RLUIPA also has the effect of encouraging prisoners to become religious in order to enjoy greater rights. The Supreme Court has considered a statute's effect on nonreligious persons as part of the effect analysis. See Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 489 U.S. 1, 9, 109 S.Ct. 890, 103 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989) (plurality opinion) (holding that government may not compel nonadherents to support religious practices). One effect of RLUIPA is to induce prisoners to adopt or feign religious belief in order to receive the statute's benefits. As Ghashiyah explained: 37 [W]hen inmates see that the rules do not apply with the same force to the religious as to the agnostic or atheist ..., non-religious prisoners will know what they have to do so that they, too, can benefit from the softer rules: become religious. Considering the meager resources and opportunities available to them inside prison walls, the compulsion to become religious — created by government — will indeed be strong. 38 250 F.Supp.2d at 1029. 39 In evaluating a statute's effect, a court must ask whether an objective observer, acquainted with the text, legislative history, and implementation of the enactment would view it as state endorsement of religion. Adland v. Russ, 307 F.3d 471, 484 (6th Cir.2002) (internal quotation marks omitted). RLUIPA's legislative history, as previously discussed, offers no evidence that religious rights are at any greater danger of deprivation in prison than are other fundamental rights. As to implementation, RLUIPA's inevitable effect is to give greater freedom to religious inmates, and to induce nonreligious inmates to adopt a religion. An objective observer viewing RLUIPA's text, legislative history, and effect would therefore conclude that the Act conveys a message of religious endorsement. 40 Plaintiffs, however, point to the following statement from Amos: For a law to have forbidden `effects' under Lemon, it must be fair to say that the government itself has advanced religion through its own activities and influence. 483 U.S. at 337, 107 S.Ct. 2862 (emphasis in original). Amos held that the exemption from Title VII did not run afoul of the effect prong of Lemon because the government was not an active participant; the statute simply allowed religious organizations to pursue their religious objectives. Id. Plaintiffs contend that RLUIPA has an identical effect. RLUIPA, according to plaintiffs, does not itself promote or subsidize a religious belief or message; it merely frees religious groups and individuals to practice as they otherwise would in the absence of certain significant state-imposed burdens. 41 The problem with plaintiffs' argument is that the exemption from Title VII that was at issue in Amos simply restored the level of freedom that religious institutions enjoyed before Congress enacted Title VII. By creating the exemption, Congress arguably acted to maintain neutrality toward religion. RLUIPA, on the other hand, does not lift any affirmative burden on the exercise of religion. Instead, by enacting RLUIPA, Congress itself has advanced religion by giving religious prisoners a preferred status in the prison community. 42