Overview

• After lower courts ruled money damages are unavailable under RLUIPA, the Supreme Court agreed on June 23 to resolve the dispute in its next term.
• Damon Landor, who had upheld a religious vow not to cut his dreadlocks for nearly 20 years, was handcuffed and forcibly shaved at Raymond Laborde Correction Center after officials discarded a 2017 ruling allowing such accommodations.
• Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Court to intervene, arguing that damages liability is necessary to ensure that federally funded institutions do not substantially burden inmates' religious exercise.
• Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill acknowledged Landor's mistreatment and revised the prison's grooming policy, but she contends that RLUIPA does not permit monetary relief.
• Landor's team points to a 2020 Supreme Court decision under the similar Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and a favorable ruling could expand accountability for religious rights violations behind bars.