Rastafari Haircut Lawsuit Barred
Supreme Court limits inmates' ability to sue over forced religious grooming.
Summary
Mostly CenterThe Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Damon Landor, a former Louisiana inmate and devout Rastafarian, cannot seek money damages from prison officials who forcibly shaved off his dreadlocks in violation of his religious beliefs. The conservative majority, in an opinion by Justice Neil Gorsuch, said the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act does not authorize damages suits against individual state officials, even when prison authorities violate an inmate’s religious rights. The justices condemned the treatment Landor described, including guards disregarding his objections and a prior ruling protecting Rastafarian hair practices, but held that Congress had not clearly created the remedy he sought. The decision leaves Landor without damages under that statute and narrows accountability options for incarcerated people whose religious exercise is violated in state custody.
The Coverage
Rights Backlash
Civil liberties advocates and progressive commentators denounced the decision as denying meaningful relief for an unusually clear violation of religious freedom. Critics argued that the Court’s conservative majority abstracted the case away from Landor’s treatment and left incarcerated people with little practical recourse when prison officials ignore protected beliefs.
Legal Fallout
Legal analysts framed the ruling as a significant limit on RLUIPA and on Congress’s ability to enforce religious-liberty protections in federally funded prisons. Commentators warned that the decision may shield rights-violating prison officials from damages and create a sharp exception to the Court’s broader record of expanding religious-liberty claims.
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