KILN CASTEL, District Judge.
Plaintiff Randolph Rossi, proceeding
A motion for a preliminary injunction may be referred to a magistrate judge to hear and report. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). In reviewing a report and recommendation, a district court "may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge." 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). In the event that a party files objections to the magistrate judge's recommendations, district courts conduct a
The Supplemental R & R recommends that plaintiff's preliminary injunction be granted with respect to the claims that (1) plaintiff be permitted to wear a Rastafari religious turban; (2) he be allowed to observe the Rastafari holy days of April 21, May 25, August 17, and October 7 by (a) refraining from working or attending programs, (b) attending a congregate worship service, and (c) eating a holy day meal with the Rastafari inmate community; and (3) defendants provide space for Rastafari Sabbath worship services on Fridays. The Supplemental R & R recommends that plaintiff's motion otherwise be denied, including specifically the following requests that (1) defendants designate April 21 and August 17 as "family events;" (2) defendants be prohibited from making the menu of holy day meals "mandatory;" and (3) defendants' practice of collecting 50 percent of the funds raised by the Rastafari inmate organization be enjoined.
The Supplemental R & R recommends that plaintiff be permitted to wear a Rastafari religious turban. (Supplemental R & R ("Supp. R & R"), 29-31.) After the Supplemental R & R was issued, defendants consented to alter their policy regarding religious headgear. Colonel Dennis W. Bradford, the Director of Correction Emergency Response Team Operations, declared that plaintiff would be allowed to wear a turban that conforms to his religious beliefs as long as it complies with mandated color restrictions. (Bradford Declaration, Oct. 3 2014, ("Bradford Decl.")) While plaintiff specifies that his color of choice is purple and beige (July 8 Hearing, 41), Colonel Bradford asserts that purple is not a permitted color because purple signifies royalty and lain inmate within a correctional facility may not set himself out as a leader, a priest, or a royal."
The Supplemental R & R recommends granting plaintiff's preliminary injunction to permit exemptions from work and programing, a shared meal, and congregate worship, on all four of the Rastafari holy days at issue in his motion.
Defendants object to the Supplemental R & R's recommendation that the court grant plaintiff exemptions from work and programming, the provision of a shared meal, and congregate worship on the holy days at issue. Defendants assert that the Supplemental R & R fails to consider the fiscal, security, and administrative constraints of DOCCS and that a preliminary injunction will "result in the untenable precedent that DOCCS should accommodate all 55,000 inmates as to work exemptions on an ad hoc basis." (Defendants' Objections ("Def. Obj."), 25.) While this Court does not doubt that accommodations for religious holidays add to the challenges of managing a prison facility, defendants fail to explain why such accommodations are feasible for some Rastafari holy days but not for others or why significant discrepancies exist between different faith groups and the scope of their religious privileges. Defendants only assert a general interest in ease of administration but point to no evidence that there exists a particular enhanced burden of a substantial sort in accommodating the Rastafari holy days of April 21 and May 25 with the type of observances that plaintiff requests. If defendants fail to accommodate a religious request there must be a "valid, rational connection" between defendants' refusal and their purported reason for that refusal.
Next, the Supplemental R & R recommends that plaintiff's request to designate April 21 and August 17 as "family events" be denied because plaintiff has failed to explain the religious significance of the family event itself or why a family event is important for certain holy days but not for others. (Supp. R & R, 34.) Plaintiff objects to this recommendation, but simply reiterates the centrality of family to the Rastafari faith without providing a clear and specific explanation of the religious significance of family on April 21 and August 17. (Plaintiff's Objections ("Pl. Obj."), 1.) Plaintiff has failed to show that celebrating these two holy days with family is "central or important" to his religious beliefs.
The Supplemental R & R recommends denying plaintiff's request to enjoin defendants from making the menu of particular holy day meals "mandatory" because plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that defendants' policies substantially burden his religious dietary principles. (Supp. R & R, 35-38.) Plaintiff objects to the Supplemental R & Ron this point, asserting that the mandatory menu "reflects an ecclesiastical command from the state in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment." (Pl. Obj., 2-3.) Plaintiff, however, fails to explain how the various alternatives DOCCS provides for holy day meals substantially burden his religious beliefs. The Court denies plaintiff's request to enjoin DOCCS from making holy day menus "mandatory."
Defendants object to the recommendation that DOCCS be required to permit Rastafari religious services on Friday. Defendants correctly note that a correctional institution need not change the schedule of religious services when there are not adequate prison resources or it otherwise interferes with prison security.
Defendants also object to the recommendation regarding Friday worship on account of "religious dissent," (Def. Obj., 23) stating that holding services on Fridays is a religious view "individual" to plaintiff (
The Supplemental R & R recommends that plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction be denied with respect to his claim challenging defendants' practice of collecting half of the Rastafari inmate organization's fundraising proceeds. The Supplemental R & R reasons that, at this time, "[p]laintiff has not demonstrated that any contemplated uses of the funds implicate beliefs that are `central or important' to his faith, let alone that the deprivation of half of the funds constitutes a `substantial burden' on those beliefs.
For the reasons stated above, this Court adopts the Supplemental Report and Recommendation. (Docket No. 89.) Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction is GRANTED, to the extent that defendants are mandatorily enjoined, pending judgment on the merits, to: (1) permit plaintiff to wear a Rastafari religious turban; (2) allow plaintiff to observe all four of the Rastafari holy days at issue in his motion, including April 21 and May 25, by (a) refraining from working or attending programs, (b) attending a congregate worship service, and (c) sharing a holy day meal with other Rastafari inmates; and (3) provide space for Rastafari Sabbath worship services on Friday afternoons, or, at least, pending the final resolution of this case on its merits, to provide an alternative accommodation for such services on Friday evenings. Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction is otherwise DENIED. Although the Court will mail a copy of this Order to plaintiff, the Court also directs defendants' counsel to fax a copy to the facility where plaintiff is currently incarcerated, with the direction that it be provided to plaintiff immediately, given the ongoing nature of the alleged constitutional violations. Defendants' counsel is also directed to provide plaintiff with copies of all unreported decisions cited herein. The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and therefore
SO ORDERED.