RLUIPA.org
Couch v. Jabe
In Couch v. Jabe, 2006 WL 2716140 (W.D.Va. Sept. 22, 2006), the district court held that the default federal 4-year statute of limitations covers RLUIPA claims, the first court in the country to rule on this issue.The court also found that the prison had substantially burdened the religious exercise of a Sunni Muslim inmate in several ways:
(1) not providing sufficient calories for inmate while he observed a special religious diet during Ramadan, thereby “substantially pressur[ing]” him to violate “Islamic tenets, in order to satisfy … physical hunger”;
(2) depriving him of the Eid ul Fitr feast following Ramadan; and
(3) denying him the Eid ul Fitr prayer service following Ramadan.
Finally, the court found the prison had not established a compelling government interest to justify the imposition of these burdens. The court held that the prison officials' contention, “that they followed departmental policies and procedures” is not sufficient to establish a compelling government interest.
Read the full opinion here.