About this Case
The Plaintiff-appellant (a prisoner) was punished for refusing to clean his cell on Saturdays, because his sincerely held religious beliefs forbade working on the Sabbath. The District Court ruled in favor of jail officials, finding that the cleaning requirement did not substantially burden the prisoner’s religious beliefs. The plaintiff appealed the decision the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
Summary of NLF's Brief
We argued that the District Court erred when it held that requiring an inmate to clean his cell on the Sabbath did not constitute a substantial burden on his religious exercise. It also erred when it concluded that the prison’s refusal to provide an accommodation was reasonable because the weight of the factors discussed in Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89-91 (1987) tilt the balance in favor of the Appellant (prisoner).