FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION OCT 13 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ARTHUR PARNELL, III, No. 10-16044
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 4:06-cv-07662-SBA
v.
MEMORANDUM *
A. TUCKER, Associate Warden; et al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Saundra Brown Armstrong, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted September 27, 2011 **
Before: SILVERMAN, W. FLETCHER, and MURGUIA, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Arthur Parnell, III, appeals pro se from the district
court’s order of dismissal and summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action
alleging denial of the right to practice his Islamic faith in violation of the First
Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person’s Act
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
(“RLUIPA”). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo
both the dismissal of claims for failure to exhaust, Wyatt v. Terhune, 315 F.3d
1108, 1117 (9th Cir. 2003), and the grant of summary judgment, Rene v. MGM
Grand Hotel, Inc., 305 F.3d 1061, 1064 (9th Cir. 2002) (en banc). We affirm.
The district court properly concluded that Parnell failed to exhaust his
administrative remedies as to claims against defendants Binekele and Beguhl for
their alleged refusal to allow him to congregate with other Muslim inmates in the
prison yard for Friday prayers. See Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 93 (2006) (the
Prison Litigation Reform Act requires “proper” exhaustion). Notwithstanding his
mistaken belief that it would be duplicative to file an appeal after grieving a similar
prior incident, Parnell failed give prison officials requisite notice of these claims.
See Morton v. Hall, 599 F.3d 942, 945 (9th Cir. 2010) (no exhaustion if grievance
is insufficient to put officials on notice of inmate’s complaint).
The district court properly granted summary judgment on Parnell’s First
Amendment claim against defendants Tucker and Thomas based on the four-factor
test in Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89-91 (1987). Parnell did not raise a triable
dispute as to whether defendants’ failure to allow Parnell to attend certain prayer
services during Ramadan was reasonably related to legitimate penological interests
in security, denied him all religious expression, could be accommodated without a
2 10-16044
severe burden on prison resources, or could be readily substituted with alternatives.
See id.; see also O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342, 350-53 (1987)
(upholding prison work assignments under Turner that kept Muslim inmates from
Friday prayers but did not preclude them from other religious activities).
The district court properly granted summary judgment on Parnell’s RLUIPA
claim against defendants Tucker and Thomas because Parnell failed to raise a
triable dispute as to whether being precluded from certain prayer services during
Ramadan significantly restricted his ability to engage in other religious activity.
See 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1(a) (no government may impose a “substantial burden”
on religious exercise of a person in an institution); San Jose Christian Coll. v. City
of Morgan Hill, 360 F.3d 1024, 1034-35 (9th Cir. 2004) (government policy
imposes a “substantial burden” if it constitutes a “significantly great restriction or
onus on any exercise of religion” (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)).
Parnell’s remaining contentions are unpersuasive.
AFFIRMED.
3 10-16044