SCOTUS Rules 9-0 For Religious Liberty in Prison

From Legal Times blog:

A unanimous U.S Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a Muslim inmate in Arkansas in his challenge to a prison rule that barred him from wearing a half-inch beard for religious reasons.
Justice Samuel Alito Jr., writing for the court in Holt v. Hobbs, said the policy violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, which bars substantial government restrictions on prisoners' religious practices unless they serve a compelling interest. The state said the policy was needed to keep inmates from hiding contraband or changing their appearance if they escape.
"We readily agree that the department has a compelling interest in staunching the flow of contraband into and within its facilities," Alito wrote. "But the argument that this interest would be seriously compromised by allowing an inmate to grow a 1⁄2-inch beard is hard to take seriously." Alito noted that Arkansas has no policy demanding that inmates shave their heads or wear crew cuts, a fact that undermines the state's security argument.
"This is a huge win for religious freedom and for all Americans," said Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, co-counsel for inmate Gregory Holt. "What the Supreme Court said today was that government officials cannot impose arbitrary restrictions on religious liberty just because they think government knows best."
During oral arguments last October, some justices worried that allowing a half-inch beard would encourage an endless series of future lawsuits testing inch-long beards or other variations. Alito's opinion does not appear to address that concern, and he cited the half-inch length repeatedly, stating that the decision finds the Arkansas policy a violation of RLUIPA "insofar as it prevents petitioner from growing a 1⁄2-inch beard."

Read more: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/legaltimes/id=1202715545878/Justices-Rule-for-Inmate-in-Dispute-Over-Beard-Length#ixzz3PNVWQwx9