Ahmad v. Department of Correction

• Citation: 845 N.E.2d 289,446 Mass. 479
• Parties: Nathaniel Bilal AHMAD v. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION & others.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL>
• Decision Date: 07 April 2006
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

845 N.E.2d 289

446 Mass. 479

Nathaniel Bilal AHMAD v. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION & others.¹

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Middlesex.

Argued September 8, 2005.

Decided April 7, 2006.

Neil McGaraghan (Katherine W. Grearson with him), Boston, for the plaintiff.

Richard C. McFarland, Bridgewater, for the defendants.

Present: MARSHALL, C.J., GREANEY, IRELAND, SPINA, COWIN, SOSMAN, & CORDY, JJ.

CORDY, J.

Nathaniel Bilal Ahmad, a devout Muslim, was an inmate in the custody of the Department of Correction (department) from 1995 to 2002. In December, 2000, he commenced this action against the department and certain of its employees, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, and money damages for violations of the free exercise and equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000); the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc et seq. (2000); arts. 1 and 2 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights; and art. 46 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution; and the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (MCRA), G.L. c. 12, § 11. Central to Ahmad's claims is the allegation that he was unlawfully prevented from practicing his Islamic faith by reason of prison restrictions on meals and the possession of various religious items.

In April, 2001, the individual defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted, arguing, among other things, that they were entitled to qualified immunity. In denying the motion, a judge in the Superior Court concluded that it was "premature to say that there are no facts overcoming the defendants' claims of qualified immunity." In January, 2003, the defendants moved for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. The motion was denied without prejudice to permit sufficient discovery regarding the applicability of qualified immunity. In February, 2004, they renewed their motion for summary judgment. The motion was allowed and the case was dismissed in its entirety. In her memorandum of decision, the motion judge addressed Ahmad's claims for declaratory and injunctive relief, concluding that they were moot, as well as his retaliation claims under the MCRA, but did not specifically explain her reasoning for dismissing the money damages claims against the individual defendants except to note that another judge in the Superior Court "has already decided that inmates do not have a constitutional right to receive Halal meals." Ahmad appeals from the dismissal of his claims for money damages against the individual defendants.

We transferred the case to this court on our own motion. For the following reasons, we affirm the granting of summary judgment in the defendants' favor.

1. Background. From December, 1999, until his release from custody on January 19, 2002, Ahmad was incarcerated at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC), a maximum security prison. The individual defendants are the superintendent of SBCC from September, 1999, until November, 2000; the SBCC superintendent, beginning in December, 2000; and the Commissioner of the department during the relevant period. While incarcerated, Ahmad sought a diet that did not violate his Islamic faith, as well as access to a variety of Islamic religious items, notably prayer oil, a prayer rug, and an Islamic medallion.

a. Religious accommodations. Article 46 parallels the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in guaranteeing the free exercise of religion.² Section 4 of art. 46 further provides that "any inmate of a ... penal ... institution" shall not be deprived "of the opportunity of religious exercise therein of his own faith." This provision of the Massachusetts Constitution is incorporated into and expanded on in G.L. c. 127, § 88, which, in relevant part, provides that an inmate "shall not be denied the free exercise of his religious belief and the liberty of worshipping God according to the dictates of his conscience in the place where he is confined." The statute further provides, however, that it "shall not be so construed as to impair the discipline of any such institution so far as may be needed for the good government and the safe custody of its inmates."

In order that a proper balance between the exercise of religious freedoms and the needs of security might be struck, the Legislature provided the commissioner, his deputies, and superintendents with the authority to establish policies, rules, and regulations regarding inmate religious programs. See G.L. c. 124, § 1(q); G.L. 124, § 2; G.L. c. 125, § 14. Pursuant to this authority, the commissioner promulgated 103 Code Mass. Regs. §§ 471.00 (1998), establishing departmental guidelines with respect to religious programs and services in the State's penal institutions. In addition, the department prepared and published in April, 1999, a Religious Services Handbook (handbook) to serve as a tool and reference source for its prison administrators, and amended its property regulations regarding the possession of religious items.³ Among other things, the handbook describes a wide range of religions and religious practices, and sets forth lists of religious items, the possession of which are approved for inmates. The handbook draws on similar handbooks utilized in different States, and was prepared with the input of clergy from different religions. It is available to all inmates in their respective prison libraries, and, among other things, outlines the process for acquiring religious items.

At SBCC, inmates' requests for religious items and practices beyond those permitted in the handbook or in the regulations may be made by filling out a religious services request form that is submitted to the institution's director of treatment. The director of treatment then reviews the form and makes a recommendation to the superintendent of the facility for review. The superintendent makes comments, and his own recommendation, and then forwards the request to the department's religious services review committee (committee). The committee is comprised of three assistant deputy commissioners, each of whom is a former superintendent knowledgeable on institutional security concerns, and is chaired by the department's director of program services. The committee reviews the inmate's request, any supporting documentation provided, and the institution's recommendation. It then makes a recommendation that is subsequently reviewed by the deputy commissioner and the commissioner.

The department provides Muslim inmates with regular access to a religious leader, religious services, and religious education classes; the ability to pray five times a day; the use of a prayer towel, prayer oil, a skull cap called a kufi; a religious medallion on a chain; prayer beads; the ability to celebrate religious feasts and Ramadan; and access to religious books, including the Islamic holy book, the Quran. When Ahmad entered prison in 1995, Muslim inmates were provided with a pork-free diet. In 2000, the department provided Muslim inmates the option of selecting an alternative vegetarian diet, which is also made available to and meets the requirements of inmates practicing several different religions including Buddhists, Rastafarians, Hare Krishnas, Hindus, and Seventh Day Adventists.

b. Ahmad's claims. Viewed in its light most favorable to the plaintiff, the record reveals the following facts with respect to Ahmad's claims.⁴

Prayer oil. Ahmad follows the Muslim practice of praying to Allah five times daily. Prior to praying, Ahmad applies prayer oil by dabbing it onto his face and neck. The department restricted the amount of prayer oil that could be purchased by an inmate to one one-ounce bottle every three months. Ahmad alleges that this amount was insufficient and thus he was forced to pray without prayer oil for months at a time.

Prayer rug. Ahmad's daily prayers are performed by kneeling and lowering the head and body to a prostrate position on the ground. Muslims utilize a prayer rug to ensure that no part of the body comes into contact with the impurities on the ground. The department provided Ahmad and other Muslim inmates with a prayer towel comparable in dimension (other than thickness) to a prayer rug. However, Ahmad alleges that the prayer towel is too small to prevent the body from coming into contact with the ground.

Religious medallion. Muslim inmates may purchase Islamic medallions that meet specifications as to cost, length and thickness of chain, and size of medallion from an approved vendor. However, no Islamic medallions were available for purchase between October, 2000, and December, 2001, because the approved vendor stopped selling the medallions and the search for a new vendor took approximately thirteen months to complete.

Diet. Ahmad believes that his Islamic faith imposes on him a strict set of dietary laws, according to which all food is either halal (lawful) or haram (not lawful). Pork and pork byproducts, meats not properly slaughtered according to the Quran, and any foods prepared with haram ingredients are all considered haram. The department has four menus available to the over 10,000 inmates in its custody: (1) a regular menu available to all inmates which is free of pork and pork byproducts; (2) an alternative vegetarian menu; (3) a kosher menu for Jewish inmates; and (4) a medical diet menu. Beginning in December, 2000, Muslim inmates were permitted access to the alternative vegetarian menu in addition to the regular pork-free menu. From 1995 to 2000, Ahmad ate from the pork-free menu. After December of 2000, Ahmad ate from the alternative vegetarian menu. Ahmad disputes whether the pork-free and the vegetarian menus provide a diet consistent with his religious scruples.⁵

2. Discussion. The doctrine of qualified immunity shields government officials, performing discretionary tasks, from liability for civil damages...