The Resident Legal Diva, Melba V Pearson, Esq., and I break down a controversial 6-3 Supreme Court decision that cuts against the traditional deference this conservative Supreme Court has for religious freedom. Damon Landor, a devout Rastafarian, was serving a drug sentence in a Louisiana prison. Despite entering the facility with a court ruling explicitly protecting his right to maintain his knee-length dreadlock, guards threw the order in the trash, held him down, and forcibly shaved his head.
While the conservative supermajority routinely goes out of its way to protect specific religious freedom claims for web designers, bakers, and football coaches, they denied this individual’s claim. The Court ruled on a technicality, declaring Landor cannot sue individual guards for monetary damages under RLUIPA. It is a classic case of a right without a remedy. Melba and I dive into Justice Jackson’s blistering dissent and what this means for civil rights. Please watch, subscribe, and share.
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— Dave, AKA Florida LawMan
