Ruling a win for Wiccan inmates
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California prisons hire full-time chaplains and spiritual leaders to serve Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant and Native American inmates.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court gave new life to a decades-long battle by Wiccan inmates for access to their own full-time chaplain.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a trial judge's dismissal of a Wiccan prisoner lawsuit seeking the same rights as the five other religious practices. The appeals court said the Wiccan prisoners make a compelling argument that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may be unconstitutionally showing preference to the five religions in violation of the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees religious freedoms.
The appeals court ruled that the trial court judge was wrong to dismiss the case almost immediately after it was filed without delving deeper into the evidence.
http://www.montereyherald.com/religion/ci_22640551/ruling-win-wiccan-inmates?source=rss