For nearly 20 years, Damon Landor refrained from cutting his hair, in accordance with his Rastafarian religious beliefs. When he arrived at a Louisiana state prison – with just three weeks to go on his sentence – his long locks nearly reached his knees. Landor presented the prison intake guard with a physical copy of a federal appeals court decision stating that forcing a Rastafarian prisoner to cut his hair would violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a federal law that protects religious freedom for incarcerated people, among others. In response, the guard threw the court’s opinion in the trash. Officers then proceeded to hold Landor down and forcibly shave his head.
Even though the officers clearly violated the law, Landor had no way to hold them accountable. Federal courts have repeatedly held that individual prison officials who violate RLUIPA – no matter how egregious the violation – cannot be sued for money damages. And once Landor had been released, money was the only meaningful remedy he could hope for. So Landor took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In our polarized political climate, Landor’s case is all the more noteworthy because of the diverse coalition of groups supporting him. In September, Americans United filed an amicus brief in support of Landor, joined by both faith groups and secular partners. So did groups like the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which serves as opposing counsel in two active cases brought by Americans United and with whom we often find ourselves in staunch disagreement. So too did the Trump administration, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and representatives of many religious denominations. (In fact, the only group to file in support of Louisiana was the National Sheriffs’ Association). It’s not every day that a hotly contested Supreme Court case generates such strong bipartisan consensus – and when this happens, it’s worth paying attention.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Landor’s case. Despite the groundswell of public support for Landor, the argument itself was surprisingly contentious – turning not on questions of religious liberty, but rather on the scope of Congress’s authority to enact laws that expose individuals to personal liability. None of the justices shied away from the egregious conduct at issue: As Justice Amy Coney Barrett acknowledged, if any case were to justify imposing individual liability under RLUIPA, it is this one.
Nor did any justice seem to doubt that Congress intended for prison officials to be liable for such abuses, as AU argued in our brief. Still, Barrett and others expressed concern that allowing Landor to sue individual officers would create a slippery slope and could allow Congress to impose financial penalties on private citizens – a contention that the three liberal justices (and Americans United) seemed to reject. The outcome of these deliberations will have significant ramifications for Landor and for incarcerated people across the country, whose freedom to practice religion too often depends on the goodwill of individual prison officials.
But regardless of how the court comes down on the question of Congress’ authority, the Landor case serves as a powerful reminder that, despite our differences, Americans across the political spectrum agree that religious liberty is a core value. AU is willing to work across divides to ensure religious freedom remains a shield that protects everyone’s right to live as themselves and believe as they choose, as long as they don’t harm others. As AU President and CEO Rachel Laser noted in her statement to the media, “Damon Landor’s religious beliefs clearly posed no threats to prison officials or other incarcerated people” – his dreadlocks caused no harm. Americans United supports Landor both because we believe that individuals should be able to practice their faith and because we believe that federal officers must carry out their duties in good faith, without discriminating against or in favor of any particular religion.
Where AU differs from Christian Nationalist groups like Becket Fund is when religious freedom is misused as a sword to harm others. Religious liberty does not mean imposing one set of beliefs on everyone, as in the context of restrictive abortion laws. It is not about forcing taxpayers to pay for religious indoctrination in public schools. And it is not about shielding religious entities from any and all liability under generally applicable laws. True religious liberty is the freedom to live and act according to one’s beliefs, without impinging on the rights of others. In Landor’s case and others, Americans United will continue to fight for this freedom as the surest way to protect Americans of all religions and none.
