Justices toss ban on beards in prison

WASHINGTON -- The Arkansas prison system cannot prohibit an inmate from growing a half-inch beard if it's grown for religious reasons, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The case, filed by Gregory Houston Holt against then-Arkansas Department of Correction Director Ray Hobbs, pits what the state said was its interest in prison security against a prisoner's right to practice his Muslim faith by growing facial hair.

When Holt, who goes by the name Abdul Maalik Muhammad, challenged the Correction Department's policy banning most beards, he did so under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which requires prison officials to show a compelling reason for limiting religious practices and to use the least restrictive method to do so.

Justice Samuel Alito delivered the unanimous opinion before the court heard oral arguments Tuesday. The opinion rejected the state's argument that an inmate could hide dangerous contraband in a beard or could shave the beard to disguise himself.

The 16-page opinion states that the department's policy substantially burdens Holt's religious exercise.

"We readily agree that the Department has a compelling interest in staunching the flow of contraband into and within its facilities, but the argument that this interest would be seriously compromised by allowing an inmate to grow a half-inch beard is hard to take seriously," it states. "... Hair on the head is a more plausible place to hide contraband than a half-inch beard, and the same is true of an inmate's clothing and shoes. Nevertheless, the Department does not require inmates to go about bald, barefoot or naked."

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a brief concurring opinion differentiating this case from a previous case. Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores allowed a closely held corporation to refuse, on religious grounds, to provide contraceptive coverage as part of its employees' health insurance.

Ginsburg dissented in the Hobby Lobby case but supported Holt because accommodating his religious belief "would not detrimentally affect others who do not share [his] belief"

Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined Ginsburg's concurring opinion and issued one of her own, emphasizing that prison officials are entitled to deference. But in this case, Sotomayor said, Arkansas prison officials had offered "little more than unsupported assertions" to justify the beard ban.

The Correction Department referred questions about the ruling to the attorney general's office.

In a statement, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's spokesman, Judd Deere, said the state is disappointed with the court's decision.

"We are glad, however, that the Court emphasized that prisons are dangerous places and 'courts should not blind themselves to the fact that the analysis [under the act] is conducted in the prison setting,'" he said. "Our office will provide whatever legal advice the Arkansas Department of Correction may seek from us going forward."

Alito said the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act does not require prisons to allow a religious exemption just because an inmate asks for one or because another prison allows it. But, the act requires the prison to show why it cannot make a reasonable exemption.

The Arkansas department's policy, adopted in 1998, prohibits facial hair except for "a neatly trimmed mustache that does not extend beyond the corner of the mouth or over the lip."

The only exception is for inmates with certain dermatological conditions, who may have a beard up to a quarter-inch long but must present documentation about the condition upon demand. There is no religious exemption.

In June 2013, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis deferred to Arkansas prison officials, who said inmates with beards could hide contraband such as razors, homemade darts or cellphone memory chips in their facial hair.

Holt asked the Supreme Court to consider the case in a 15-page, handwritten petition filed in September 2013 called "a writ of certiorari in forma pauperis," which allows people who cannot afford the fees to petition the court without paying filing fees.

In November 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court gave Holt permission to have a half-inch beard as the case made its way through the system. His photo on the Correction Department website shows him with a beard.

Holt's attorney, University of Virginia law professor Douglas Laycock, said he and Holt are delighted with the opinion.

"I think this is a big win, not only for this one Muslim person but to people of all faiths," he said. "Religion is one of the few things prisoners have to hold on to."

He said it will have ramifications for several similar cases across the country, including whether prisons have to provide kosher food to Jewish inmates, or whether inmates should be allowed to have scriptures or religious artifacts in their cells.

Laycock said prison officials may make rules for safety reasons, often without regard for religion.

"Some of them get accustomed to arbitrary authority... and they don't take these claims seriously," he said, specifically pointing to the half-inch-beard rule in Arkansas. "It just didn't make any sense, but the prison officials were dug in and really unwilling to think."

President Barack Obama's administration, the American Civil Liberties Union and several religious organizations sided with Holt. More than a dozen states supported Arkansas' position.

Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said the Becket Fund got involved in the case after Holt's handwritten petition was accepted by the Supreme Court.

"That got everybody's attention, so when that happened we got in touch with him," Rassbach said. "What happened in this case is unfortunately very common -- a lot of prison officials will just say no [to religious exemptions.]"

Rassbach said the state tried to argue that the court should defer to policies prison officials say are necessary for safety.

"What this case says is they actually need to take the request [for a religious exemption] seriously," he said. "It's very important that people realize this is not just about one prisoner, but about all Americans that value religious liberty."

He said in the past the court has required the involved state to pay for court fees, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but until the case goes back before the 8th Circuit, it's not yet clear if Arkansas will have to pay and how much.

Holt, 39, is serving a life sentence in the Varner Supermax Unit in Lincoln County. In 2010, he was convicted in Pulaski County Circuit Court of aggravated residential burglary and first-degree battery. Prosecutors said he cut his girlfriend's throat and stabbed her in the chest at her mobile home in Little Rock.

At his trial, jurors learned that Holt had written letters describing himself as an "American Taliban" threatening a deadly "jihad" in the courtroom if the verdict in his trial went "south."

He also was convicted of and served two years for a federal crime for threatening to kidnap President George W. Bush's daughters.

A section on 01/21/2015