Florida Department of Corrections broadens Kosher food policy

Dec 4, 2003

Just one month after signing a settlement agreement in which it agreed to provide Jewish inmate Alan Cotton the Kosher food he'd sought for three years, the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) has broadened its policy to include all Jewish inmates.

In a November 17 letter to Florida State Senator Gwen Margolis, FDOC Legislative Affairs Director Roxanne Siko stated that the Department's policy is now that "any inmate who is Jewish and requests kosher meals will receive the meals after verification that the inmate is following the guidelines set out by the Kashrut laws." Senator Margolis had sent a letter inquiring about FDOC's policy on November 4, shortly after the Cotton Settlement Agreement was announced.

Siko's letter noted that "the Settlement Agreement between Allen [sic] J. Cotton and the Florida Department of Corrections deals solely with Inmate Cotton," but added that FDOC "has been working with Rabbi Menachem Katz (of the Aleph Institute) on this issue," and then described the policy change.

Alan Cotton's battle to get Kosher food began with an informal grievance in October 2000. On September 19, 2002, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed a lawsuit on Cotton's behalf against FDOC, and the Department entered into settlement negotiations after failing to persuade a U.S. Magistrate Judge to dismiss the action. That agreement applied only to Cotton, and not other inmates. Becket Fund attorney Derek Gaubatz noted at the time that in the wake of the settlement, FDOC no longer had any justification for denying Kosher food to any inmate similarly situated, and that it "would be well advised to change its rules now to reflect this fact."

Today, Gaubatz noted that "FDOC now appears to be doing the right thing for all of its Jewish inmates who sincerely seek to practice their faith while confined in the correctional system," and called on the Department to "swiftly implement this policy and ensure that all FDOC employees and inmates are made aware of the policy change, and not just members of the state legislature."

Relevant Cases

• Cotton v. Florida Dept. of Corrections