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Jarrard v. Sheriff of Polk County (11th Cir.)

Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic represents Mr. Stephen Jarrard, an Evangelist of the Church of Christ who has been excluded from a county jail’s volunteer ministry program because of his views on baptism.

For nearly two decades, Jarrard has served as a volunteer minister at jail and prison facilities in Georgia. Through his ministry, Jarrard shares God’s word and the Gospel with prisoners by engaging them in discussions about the Bible. As a member of the Church of Christ, Jarrard believes that baptism is necessary for salvation and must be performed by full immersion.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office invites and encourages members of the community to minister to inmates at the County Jail. But County officials, Sheriff Johnny Moats and former Chief Jailer Al Sharp, have barred Jarrard from the Jail’s ministry program because they personally reject his views on baptism. According to Sheriff Moats, the County’s “stance” is that inmates “can wait until after release” to be baptized “since it is not a requirement for salvation.” Jarrard was told he could not return to minister in the Jail unless he stopped teaching his views on baptism.

In January 2020, Jarrard sued the County officials to challenge that exclusion. The trial court dismissed Jarrard’s First Amendment claim, and Jarrard has sought review of that decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. As the Clinic has made clear throughout the appeal, the First Amendment plainly prohibits government officials like Moats and Sharp from denying benefits, opportunities, or access to government facilities to a person merely because he has expressed religious views which the officials dislike.

The Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic represents Jarrard on appeal, alongside Zack Greenamyre of Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt, LLP and Gerald Weber of Atlanta.