Walker v. Baldwin (7th Cir.)
Thomas Walker, a devout Rastafarian, was forced to cut his dreadlocks in violation of his sincerely held religious beliefs under threat of disciplinary action by state officials. Walker sought monetary damages under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which broadly protects prisoners’ religious exercise.
Notre Dame Law School’s Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Bruderhof, CLEAR, Muslim Advocates, and the Sikh Coalition. The brief demonstrates that RLUIPA’s text broadly authorizes appropriate relief, including damages. As the brief explains, monetary damages are particularly important to prevent strategic mooting of prisoners’ claims and to protect religious minorities in prisons.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants, holding that Walker had abandoned his RLUIPA claim.
Read Our Brief
- Amicus Brief (7th Cir.) (Oct. 26, 2022)
Learn More About Our Work
- "Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic represents Bruderhof, Sikh, and Muslim groups defending a Rastafarian inmate's right to wear dreadlocks" (Oct. 27, 2022)
Court Decisions
Appellate Court (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit)
- Opinion (July 26, 2023)
Trial Court (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois)
- Memorandum Opinion & Order (June 30, 2022)
Media
- "Religious liberty behind bars" by Maggie Phillips, published by The Tablet (Mar. 3, 2023)