F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
PUBLISH
NOV 13 2003
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
TENTH CIRCUIT
TYRONE R. HAMMONS, individually
and on behalf of those similarly
situated,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
No. 02-5009
v.
JAMES L. SAFFLE, Director of
Oklahoma Department of Corrections
and/or his successors,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Oklahoma
(D.C. No. 00-CV-143-H)
Tyrone R. Hammons filed briefs, pro se.
Philip J. Weiser, University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, Colorado, for
Plaintiff-Appellant.
Gregory Thomas Metcalfe, Assistant Attorney General, (Machelle Y. Thompson,
Assistant Attorney General, with him on the briefs), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
for Defendant-Appellee.
Before MURPHY, BALDOCK, and O’BRIEN, Circuit Judges.
MURPHY, Circuit Judge.
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff-appellant Tyrone R. Hammons is incarcerated at the Dick Conner
Correctional Center in Hominy, Oklahoma. Defendants-appellees James L.
Saffle, et al., implemented prison policies in May 1999 and June 2002,
prohibiting in-cell possession and use of oils that Hammons uses for his five
daily Muslim prayers. Hammons, proceeding pro se, filed this action under 42
U.S.C. § 1983 seeking a declaratory judgment that his First Amendment right to
freely exercise his religion was violated. In addition, Hammons sought damages
and injunctive relief, costs and fees, and punitive damages in the amount of
$100,000 for the alleged violations of his First Amendment rights. Appellees
moved for summary judgment. The district court granted appellees’ motion,
ruling, as a matter of law, that Hammons’ First Amendment rights were not
violated and that defendant Saffle was entitled to qualified immunity. Hammons
appealed and was appointed counsel on appeal.
Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms
the district court’s grant of summary judgment to appellees on the First
Amendment and qualified immunity issues. Because this court holds that, given
the unique facts and procedural posture of this case, Hammons should be allowed
to have the district court consider whether he has stated a claim under the
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), 42 U.S.C. §
2
2000cc, it remands the case to the district court for further proceedings not
inconsistent with this opinion.
II. BACKGROUND
Hammons is a devout Muslim. He abides by the tenets of Islam that
purport to advise followers to use Muslim prayer oils to enhance the spiritual
value of their five daily prayers. Prior to May 1999, Hammons was allowed to
purchase his prayer oils subject to limitations and was allowed to possess and use
them in his cell “without incident.”
In May 1999, James L. Saffle, the director of the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections (“DOC”) who has final policy-making authority, enacted a new
policy (“1999 Policy”) that banned sales of Muslim prayer oils in prison canteens
and the in-cell possession and use of such oils by inmates. Muslim inmates
could, however, access prayer oils through volunteer chaplains who could
provide the oils for inmate use during a religious service. Under the 1999 Policy,
however, the volunteer chaplains had to take the prayer oils with them out of the
prison facilities when they left. These volunteer chaplains were not available
during each of the five daily Muslim prayers. Moreover, all inmates still could
purchase “imitation designer colognes and oils” from the prison canteen and keep
them in their cells. Hammons provided evidence that these “imitation designer
colognes and oils” were not the prayer oils he used during his daily prayers
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because they were not prepared at the “spirit level.” There is no evidence,
however, that the prayer oils’ chemical basis differs from that of the “imitation
designer colognes and oils” that continued to be sold under the 1999 Policy.
Evidence also indicates that the “imitation designer colognes and oils” sold in the
prison canteen under the 1999 Policy had a stronger scent than the prayer oils
Hammons had been able to purchase and use prior to the implementation of the
1999 Policy.
A committee formed to review all DOC policies regarding canteen
purchases found, in May 2001, that the “religious oils” used by inmates were in
fact “imitation designer colognes/perfumes.” Two separate tests conducted with
drug-detecting dogs (“drug dogs”) determined that the “imitation designer
colognes/perfumes” masked the scent of drugs and interfered with the drug dogs’
ability to successfully detect drugs. The committee recommended that these
substances no longer be sold in the prison canteens or by inmate clubs.
Appellees conceded at oral argument that the drug dog tests were not conducted
on the Muslim prayer oils used by Hammons.
In response to the committee’s recommendations, appellees enacted a new
policy in June 2002 (“2002 Policy”) which prohibits the sale of both Muslim
prayer oils and “imitation designer colognes/perfumes” in the prison canteen or
by any inmate group. In addition, inmates are not allowed to use or possess these
4
substances in their cells. Muslim inmates can own a bottle of prayer oil so long
as it is used and stored in designated worship areas. Hammons’ assertion that
Muslim inmates cannot access these designated worship areas five times per day
is not disputed by appellees.
III. DISCUSSION
This court reviews an award of summary judgment de novo, viewing the
record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Hulsey v. Kmart,
Inc., 43 F.3d 555, 557 (10th Cir. 1994). Moreover, this court construes a pro se
party’s pleadings liberally. Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir.
1991). Summary judgment is only appropriate when there is no genuine issue of
material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). An issue of material fact is genuine if a reasonable jury
could return a verdict for the non-movant. Kaul v. Stephan, 83 F.3d 1208, 1212
(10th Cir. 1996). If there is no genuine issue of material fact in dispute, this
court then determines if the substantive law was correctly applied by the district
court. Sundance Assocs. Inc. v. Reno, 139 F.3d 804, 807 (10th Cir. 1998). This
court reviews a district court’s conclusion that a defendant is entitled to qualified
immunity de novo. Farmer v. Perrill, 288 F.3d 1254, 1259 (10th Cir. 2002).
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A. First Amendment Claim
Hammons argues that his First Amendment right to freely exercise his
religion was violated by appellees’ 1999 Policy, which prohibited in-cell use and
possession of prayer oils while allowing in-cell use and possession of imitation
colognes and perfumes. Hammons does not argue that the 2002 Policy violates
his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion. Therefore, this court
only rules on the constitutionality of the 1999 Policy.
The Free Exercise Clause mandates that prison authorities afford prisoners
reasonable opportunities to exercise their sincerely held religious beliefs.
O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342, 348 (1987). Inmates’ free exercise
rights are, however, subject to prison restrictions rationally related to legitimate
penological interests. Id. at 349. In this case, appellees had legitimate
penological interests in preventing the use and possession of illegal drugs, in
maintaining prison order and safety, in crime deterrence, and in inmate
rehabilitation. See Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 91 (1987).
In addition, appellees’ policies were rationally related to their valid
penological interests. In determining whether a governmental policy is rationally
related to a legitimate interest, this court weighs several factors. O’Lone, 482
U.S. at 350. First, the court considers whether there is a logical connection
between the prison regulation and the asserted penological interest. Id.; Turner,
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482 U.S. at 89-91. Second, the court considers whether alternative means of
exercising the religious right in question remain open to inmates. Turner, 482
U.S. at 90. Third, the court assesses the impact the accommodation of the right
in question would have on guards, other inmates, and on the allocation of prison
resources. Id. Fourth, the court considers whether any policy alternatives exist
that would accommodate the right in question at de minimis cost to the prison.
Id. at 91.
Hammons argues that the 1999 Policy was not logically connected to
appellees’ penological interests because the policy allowed inmates to access oils
through volunteer chaplains but did not allow them to possess or use the oils in
their prison cells. This argument fails because allowing inmates to purchase the
oils but to only possess them outside their cells in designated, supervised areas
did further appellees’ penological interests. Constraining prayer oil use to
supervised, communal areas decreased the likelihood that these oils would have
been used by inmates to mask the odor of drugs or to slip out of handcuffs.
Thus, the 1999 Policy was logically related to appellees’ penological interests.
Likewise, appellees’ failure to initially ban imitation colognes and
perfumes, which have a stronger scent than Muslim prayer oils, does not preclude
a finding that the 1999 Policy was logical. Supreme Court precedent indicates
that appellees can, in some circumstances, implement policies that are logical but
7
yet experiment with solutions and address problems one step at a time. City of
Renton v. Playtime Theaters, Inc., 475 U.S. 41, 52-53 (1986). These “one step at
a time” policies that are held to be logical include, at a minimum, those cases
where the final policy is not “under-inclusive.” Playtime Theaters, 475 U.S. at
52-53. In this case, appellees’ 2002 Policy bans in-cell possession of both
imitation colognes and perfumes and of prayer oils, and is therefore not “under-
inclusive.” Although some evidence indicates that Hammons’ prayer oils have a
weaker scent than that of the imitation designer colognes and perfumes sold in
the canteen under the 1999 Policy, the prison administration nevertheless
determined that such prayer oils can mask the scent of drugs. Appellees’ choice
to take the less direct route of banning in-cell possession of prayer oils three
years prior to banning in-cell possession of imitation colognes and perfumes does
not preclude a holding that the 1999 Policy was nevertheless rationally related to
their legitimate penological interests. See Playtime Theaters, 475 U.S. at 52-53.
Second, although Hammons could not possess and use his prayer oils in his
cell under the 1999 Policy, he had alternative means of exercising his religion.
Courts are particularly deferential to the policy judgment of corrections officials
in cases where other avenues remain available to inmates for the exercise of the
asserted right. Turner, 482 U.S. at 90. Prison regulations allowed Hammons to
purchase and access his prayer oils through a volunteer chaplain under the 1999
8
Policy. Hammons argues that this alternative is illusory because he could not
access and use prayer oils every time he recited his five daily prayers and because
the chaplain is biased against Muslims.
In some circumstances, it is indeed true that a prison’s reliance on
volunteers to provide inmates with religiously mandated items does not suffice to
constitute an alternative means for the inmates’ exercise of their religion. See
Beerheide v. Suthers, 286 F.3d 1179, 1186 (10th Cir. 2002). In Beerheide,
however, the DOC’s purported alternative was a bare assertion that the Jewish
community could choose to provide the free, religiously mandatory kosher meals
to prisoners that the DOC failed to provide. Id. Beerheide is distinguishable
from the case at bar on two levels. First, the DOC in Beerheide merely offered
the speculative alternative that the Jewish community could choose to provide
kosher meals and the district court found that daily provision of kosher food by
the community was not feasible. Id. In contrast, the DOC in this case has an in-
house chaplain and also customarily has volunteer chaplains come into the prison
and provide Muslim inmates with their religious oils, albeit not as often as
Hammons desires. Second, the DOC in Beerheide was effectively forcing Jewish
inmates to affirmatively consume non-kosher food that they believed polluted
their bodies, imperiled their souls, and was expressly forbidden by their religion.
See id. at 1186-87, 1192. The Beerheide court reasoned that “[i]t is one thing to
9
curtail various ways of expressing belief, for which alternative ways of
expressing belief may be found [; i]t is another thing to require a believer to
defile himself . . . by doing something that is completely forbidden by the
believer’s religion.” Id. at 1192 (quotation omitted). Unlike Beerheide, the DOC
in this case merely curtails a way of expressing a belief for which alternative
ways of expressing that belief may be found. It does not force an inmate to
affirmatively take an action that defiles his body. Appellees’ restriction of a
religious item that is asserted to merely enhance the religious experience of
prayer is not comparable in gravity to the Beerheide DOC’s forcing inmates to
eat food that they believed imperiled their souls because it violated a religious
mandate that they not pollute their bodies with non-kosher food. See id. This
case is therefore distinguishable from Beerheide.
Furthermore, Hammons’ lack of in-cell access to prayer oils five times per
day does not preclude this court’s conclusion that an alternative means of
exercising his religion existed. See O’Lone, 482 U.S. at 351-53. This court has
held that an alternative means exists so long as some means, albeit not plaintiff’s
preferred means, of religious exercise is available. See Clifton v. Craig, 924 F.2d
182, 183-84 (10th Cir. 1991). In addition, the mere diminishment, as opposed to
complete denial, of Hammons’ spiritual experience is relevant in determining
whether the proffered penological interests suffice to justify the infringement.
10
Makin v. Colo. Dept. of Corr., 183 F.3d 1205, 1213 (10th Cir. 1999). As
explained above, Hammons had the alternative of accessing and using his prayer
oils through volunteer chaplains. Hammons admits that the denial of in-cell
access to prayer oils for each of his five daily prayers “significantly lessen[ed
the] degree in the character of [his] spiritual experience,” but did not completely
eradicate the value of his prayers. Therefore, this court holds that Hammons had
an alternative means of exercising his religion.
Third, accommodating Hammons’ need to access his prayer oils five times
per day would likely have heavily burdened prison resources and other inmates’
religious interests. See O’Lone, 482 U.S. at 352-53. Courts must be particularly
deferential to the discretion of corrections officials when the accommodation of
an asserted right will have a significant ripple effect on fellow inmates or on
prison staff. Beerheide, 286 F.3d at 1190. Evidence in the record demonstrates
that the prison administration attempted to allocate access to its chaplain and
religious resources among Muslim inmates and inmates from a variety of other
religious denominations. Hammons admits that the chaplain and prison chapel
were not available to Muslim inmates five times per day because “too many other
religious groups ha[d] to be accommodated.” Thus, this is not a case where the
difficulties of accommodation stem from the difficulties inherent in implementing
any new policy. Id. Accommodating Hammons’ desire to use prayer oils five
11
times per day would have taken resources away from other religious groups that
also needed access to the chapel and chaplain. Therefore, the third factor weighs
in favor of a finding that the 1999 Policy was rationally related to a legitimate
penological interest. See O’Lone, 482 U.S. at 352-53.
Fourth, no evidence in the record suggests that an alternative existed to
accommodate Hammons’ need to use the prayer oils five times per day at only a
de minimis cost to appellees’ valid penological interests. See Turner, 482 U.S. at
89-91. There is no evidence in the record of any alternative that would have
allowed Hammons to access his prayer oils five times per day without imposing a
heavy burden on prison resources. Hammons does allege, however, that prior to
the implementation of the revised policies he was allowed to use his prayer oils
in his cell “without incident.” The mere lack of incident under the former policy,
however, does not establish that such an incident would not occur in the future.
The 1999 Policy’s ban of prayer oils reflected appellees’ informed judgment that
such an incident could occur in the future. This court must defer to the prison
administration’s judgment in analyzing the policy. See Procunier v. Martinez,
416 U.S. 396, 405 (1974).
Given the above factors, this court holds that appellees’ 1999 Policy was
rationally related to a legitimate penological interest. This court therefore
12
affirms the district court’s grant of summary judgment in appellees’ favor on
Hammons’ First Amendment claim.
Since Hammons failed to show that his clearly established First
Amendment rights were violated, this court affirms the district court’s holding
that Saffle is entitled to qualified immunity. 1 See Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194,
202 (2001); Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640 (1987). Qualified
immunity shields government officials from suit if the officials’ conduct does not
violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable official would have
known. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 (1982). Although it was clearly
established that Hammons had the general right to the reasonable opportunity to
exercise his religion, Hammons failed to prove that his free exercise rights were
in fact violated. See id.; Makin, 183 F.3d at 1210 n.4. Therefore, Saffle is
entitled to qualified immunity. Pueblo Neighborhood Health Ctrs. v. Losavio,
847 F.2d 642, 646 (10th Cir. 1988).
B. Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act claim
Hammons argues, for the first time on appeal, that the district court should
have construed his complaint to assert a claim under RLUIPA, given his pro se
1
The qualified immunity issue is not affected by our remand of the
RLUIPA issue. On appeal, Hammons seeks injunctive relief under RLUIPA and
qualified immunity applies only to claims for damages. Anderson v. Creighton,
483 U.S. 635, 646 (1987); Kikumura v. Hurley, 242 F.3d 950, 962-63 (10th Cir.
2001).
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status in the proceedings below. 2 Pro se plaintiffs are required to allege the
necessary underlying facts to support a claim under a particular legal theory. See
Bellmon, 935 F.2d at 1110; Dunn v. White, 880 F.2d 1188, 1197 (10th Cir. 1989).
In this case, Hammons filed his complaint in February 2000 asserting that the
1999 Policy violated his religious freedom rights. RLUIPA was enacted in
September 2000. The district court entered summary judgment for appellees in
November 2001. At the summary judgment proceedings, evidence of appellees’
proposed 2002 Policy was presented. Hammons, however, never raised a
RLUIPA claim. Accordingly, appellees were never given an opportunity to
defend against a RLUIPA claim. Neither party brought the newly enacted
legislation to the attention of the district court.
Hammons argues on appeal that had the district court applied the new
RLUIPA legislation to the facts of his case it would not have granted summary
2
RLUIPA provides, in relevant part:
No government shall impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise
of a person residing in or confined to an institution . . . even if the burden
results from a rule of general applicability, unless the government
demonstrates that imposition of the burden on that person—
(1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and
(2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling
governmental interest.
42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1(a). In addition, RLUIPA defines “religious exercise”
as “includ[ing] any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central
to, a system of religious belief.” § 2000cc-5(7)(A).
14
judgment in appellees’ favor. Hammons argues that appellees’ 2002 Policy,
which prohibits in-cell possession and use of both prayer oils and of non-
religious imitation designer colognes and perfumes, violates RLUIPA.
Given the unique facts and procedural posture of this case, the district
court never considered whether Hammons’ complaint stated a claim under
RLUIPA. On remand, the district court should construe Hammons’ pro se
complaint in light of RLUIPA or consider whether to appoint counsel to assist
Hammons in presenting the RLUIPA claim. Marshall v. Columbia Lea Regional
Hosp., 2003 WL 22230113 at *21 (10th Cir. Sept. 29, 2003). If it is determined
that Hammons has stated a claim for relief under RLUIPA, appellees may then
raise any appropriate defenses to the RLUIPA claim. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a);
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b). 3
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, this court AFFIRMS the district court’s grant of
summary judgment in appellees’ favor on Hammons’ First Amendment claim.
3
Appellees argue that RLUIPA does not bar the grant of summary judgment
in their favor because it is unconstitutional. Since a RLUIPA claim was never
argued before the district court, however, this court does not reach the question
of the statute’s constitutionality. See, e.g., Dist. 22 United Mine Workers of Am.
v. Utah, 229 F.3d 982, 991-92 (10th Cir. 2000). We note that a party challenging
the constitutionality of legislation should call the attention of the court to its
consequential duty to notify the attorney general of the challenge pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 2403(a). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(c); Fed. R. App. P. 44(a).
15
This court AFFIRMS the district court’s ruling that Saffle is entitled to qualified
immunity. This court REMANDS the case to the district court for proceedings
on a RLUIPA claim not inconsistent with this opinion.
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Hammons v. Saffle
Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Date filed: 2003-11-13
Citations: 348 F.3d 1250
Copy CitationsCombined Opinion