Brown Ex Rel. Indigenous Inmates v. Schuetzle.

U.S. District Court

RELIGION

Brown Ex Rel. Indigenous Inmates v. Schuetzle, 368 F.Supp.2d 1009 (D.N.D. 2005). Native American inmates at a state prison brought a civil rights action alleging they were being deprived of their right to freely exercise their religion. The district court dismissed the action. The court held that the prison's failure to hire or appoint an individual that met a chief's requirements for conducting sacred sweat lodge ceremonies did not violate the inmates' civil rights under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The court noted that a prison is not under an affirmative duty to hire a particular clergy person, and that an appropriate solution can include rotating different clergy in an effort to cater to all sects. According to the court, the chief's statement of protocols for the seven sacred rites was a statement of goals, and the failure to appoint a specific pipe keeper did not impose a substantial burden on the inmates' exercise of their religious freedoms. The court also held that the First Amendment prohibited the prison from adopting a policy that prevented the attendance of non-Native Americans at sweat lodge ceremonies, which was part of the chief's statement of protocols for the seven sacred rites. The court noted that the prison has allowed inmates to participate in sweat lodge ceremonies twice weekly since 1978. (North Dakota State Penitentiary)