Williams v. Morton

• Citation: 343 F.3d 212
• Decision Date: 09 September 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-3653.,02-3653.
• Parties: James WILLIAMS; Ishmon Stallworth, Appellants, v. Willis E. MORTON; J. Blackstone; F. Jones; Roy L. Hendricks; Walter Wise; Frank Graves.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)

343 F.3d 212

James WILLIAMS; Ishmon Stallworth, Appellants, v. Willis E. MORTON; J. Blackstone; F. Jones; Roy L. Hendricks; Walter Wise; Frank Graves.

No. 02-3653.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued June 26, 2003.

Filed September 9, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Christopher J. Michie, John Bellwoar (Argued), Dechert, Price & Rhoads, Princeton, NJ, for Appellants.

David Samson, Attorney General of New Jersey, David M. Ragonese (Argued), Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey, Patrick DeAlmeida, Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, for Appellees.

Before: SLOVITER, AMBRO, Circuit Judges, and TUCKER,^* District Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

Before us is the appeal by prisoners from the order of the District Court granting summary judgment to prison officials and employees as to the prisoners' claims that their constitutional rights to the free exercise of religion and equal protection have been violated by the prison's failure to provide them with meals they contend are required by their religious beliefs. We further consider whether the District Court abused its discretion by admitting the declaration and deposition testimony of a witness into the summary judgment record.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Ishmon Stallworth and James Williams ("Prisoners"), inmates at the New Jersey State Prison ("NJSP"), filed suit against Willis E. Morton, Roy Hendricks, Walter Wise, and Frank Graves ("Prison Officials"), all of whom are either former or current NJSP officials, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The crux of Prisoners' claims is that the Prison Officials violated their constitutional rights by failing to provide them with Halal meat meals in conformity with their religious beliefs. A Halal, or lawful, diet includes fruits, vegetables, seafood, and meat from herbivorous animals such as cows and chickens that are properly slaughtered. The opposite of Halal food is Haram food, which is prohibited or unlawful and includes pork and meat from carnivorous animals. Halal foods can become contaminated if they are commingled with Haram items.

Currently, the different diets provided by the NJSP fall into four general categories: (1) a regular meal which is served to approximately 600 inmates; (2) a series of health-related diets with low sodium, low cholesterol, and reduced calories which are served to about 350 inmates; (3) a Kosher diet that is provided to 4 Jewish inmates; and (4) a religious vegetarian diet served to approximately 225 inmates who cannot eat the regular prison diet for religious reasons.¹ The regulation creating the religious vegetarian meal reads:

An inmate who cannot eat the food served to the general population because of the inmate's religious beliefs may request a religious vegetarian diet. Upon review and approval of the request by the Chaplain of the correctional facility in accordance with this subchapter, nutritionally balanced vegetarian meals shall be provided to the inmate in place of the food served to the general population.

N.J.A.C. § 10A:17-5.9

On behalf of themselves and other Muslim inmates, Prisoners contend that, as applied, this regulation violates their sincerely held religious belief that they are required to consume Halal meat in their diet. Their complaint alleges that the Prison Officials violated their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment² by not providing them with Halal meat and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment³ by providing Kosher meals with meat to Jewish prisoners without providing Halal meat to Muslim inmates. They further claim that the Prison Officials violated their rights under the New Jersey Constitution and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:5-1 et seq. Prisoners requested an injunction that would require the NJSP to include Halal meat in their diet and damages for the alleged violations of their constitutional rights.⁴

Analyzing Prisoners' constitutional claims under the four-part test enunciated by the Supreme Court in Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987), the District Court granted the Prison Officials' motion for summary judgment.⁵ Prisoners timely appealed.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Jurisdiction and Standard of Review

We have jurisdiction to hear this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review over the District Court's decision to grant summary judgment. DeHart v. Horn, 227 F.3d 47, 50 (3d Cir.2000) (en banc). Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. We must view all evidence and draw all inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, here Prisoners. Id.

B. Free Exercise Claim

As to their free exercise claim, Prisoners concede that the District Court applied the correct test as enunciated in Turner but argue that it incorrectly applied that test to the facts in the record. According to Prisoners, there is sufficient evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Turner factors weigh in favor of the Prison Officials, thereby making summary judgment inappropriate.

In Turner, the Supreme Court considered the proper standard under which courts are to review prison regulations that are challenged on constitutional grounds. The Court considered two somewhat competing principles, the first of which is that federal courts "must take cognizance of the valid constitutional claims" of inmates. Turner, 482 U.S. at 84, 107 S.Ct. 2254. This judicial cognizance notwithstanding, courts must remember that they are "ill equipped to deal with the increasingly urgent problems of prison administration and reform." Id. (citation omitted). Bearing these dual principles in mind, the Court concluded that "when a prison regulation impinges on inmates' constitutional rights, the regulation is valid if it is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests." Id. at 89, 107 S.Ct. 2254.

Thereafter, the Turner Court provided the following four factors to consider when applying its newly enunciated reasonableness standard:

First, there must be a valid, rational connection between the prison regulation and the legitimate governmental interest put forward to justify it.... A second factor relevant in determining the reasonableness of a prison restriction... is whether there are alternative means of exercising the right that remain open to prison inmates.... A third consideration is the impact accommodation of the asserted constitutional right will have on guards and other inmates, and on the allocation of prison resources generally.... Finally, the absence of ready alternatives is evidence of the reasonableness of a prison regulation.

Id. at 89-90, 107 S.Ct. 2254.

Furthermore, the burden is not on the state to prove the validity of the challenged prison regulation but instead is on the inmate to disprove it. Overton v. Bazzetta, ___ U.S. ___, 123 S.Ct. 2162, 156 L.Ed.2d 162 (2003) (applying Turner and upholding prison regulations limiting prisoner visitation rights).

We have held that a prerequisite to the application of Turner is the assertion of "only those beliefs which are both sincerely held and religious in nature are entitled to constitutional protection." DeHart, 227 F.3d at 51. The Constitution does not protect "mere assertion[s] of ... religious beliefs." Id. The Prison Officials argue that it is also a prerequisite for the inmate to establish that the challenged prison policy "substantially burdens" his or her religious beliefs. Br. of Defendants at 24. There is no support for that assertion. Because the Prison Officials fail to provide us with any reason to doubt that Prisoners sincerely believe that Islam requires them to eat Halal meat, it follows that we must determine whether the prison's practice of not providing Halal meat meals is reasonable under Turner.

1. Legitimate Penological Interests

The District Court held that NJSP's decision to provide a vegetarian meal, rather than one with Halal meat, is rationally related to legitimate penological interests, namely simplified food service, prison security, and budgetary constraints. According to the District Court, if the prison were required to provide Halal meat, prison officials would have to coordinate a new program for food service that would require more kitchen help and could potentially cause problems between prisoners. It further found "no evidence of record" showing that Halal meat could be provided to the more than 200 inmates who currently receive the religious diet in a cost efficient manner or within the prison's budget. App. at 21.

Prisoners do not dispute that simplified food service, security, and budget constraints are legitimate penological interests. Indeed, our prior decisions preclude such an argument. See Fraise v. Terhune, 283 F.3d 506, 517-18 (3d Cir.2002) (finding security to be a legitimate penological interest); DeHart, 227 F.3d at 53 (finding simplified food service to be a legitimate penological interest). Instead, Prisoners contend that the evidence raises an issue of fact for the jury regarding whether these interests would be adversely affected by the addition of Halal meat meals.

With respect to simplified food service, Prisoners argue that the District Court overlooked the testimony of Lorenza Graves. They point to Graves' statement that it "would be no great problem" to serve Halal meat received from an outside vendor to the inmates who now receive vegetarian meals or to serve Halal meat to the general prison population if it came from the distribution center in place of non-Halal meat. App. at 140, 145. Prisoners further argue that the testimony of various NJSP officials does not support the Prison Officials' contention that providing Halal meals with meat would raise...