First Circuit Court of Appeals Requests Expert Brief and Oral Argument

Feb 8, 2008

This morning the Becket Fund’s National Litigation Director, Eric Rassbach, argued a prisoner religious liberty case at the invitation of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Rassbach said, “Prison systems shouldn’t let prisoners who are faking religious belief make it harder for true believers to live out their faith.”

Although the Becket Fund is not representing any party in the case, the First Circuit requested the Becket Fund, as legal experts on religious freedom issues, to submit a friend-of-the-court brief and present oral argument before the court.

The case, Guzzi v. Thompson, involves a prison inmate who requested kosher meals based upon his personal non-Jewish beliefs.  The state denied his request because he is not Jewish.  The Becket Fund argues that such out-of-the-ordinary requests must be judged by the inmate's sincerity and truthfulness (a factual test common in many areas of law), not by a state-created list of standard religious practices.

“Prisons and courts should force inmates to prove that they are telling the truth about their religious beliefs before they create legal precedent making it hard for others, especially devout Jewish prisoners, to keep kosher in prison,” Rassbach said.  “Courts should not be in the business of theological interpretation.”