Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison achieved an appellate victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on behalf of two incarcerated pro bono clients. The case centered on claims that these individuals were denied access to congregate religious services without penological justification while housed in a special unit at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, Connecticut.
The two appellants were part of a group of nine who alleged that restrictions on their religious practices violated their First Amendment rights and that conditions in “Q-Pod”—including extended isolation and lack of sanitation—violated Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment protections. Although different counsel represented them at trial, the District Court for the District of Connecticut had granted summary judgment for state officials on all federal counts and dismissed related state law claims.
On appeal, Paul, Weiss was appointed by the Second Circuit and secured a partial reversal. A unanimous panel found that prison officials violated established law by denying access to Native American sweat-lodge and smudging ceremonies without justification. The court stated: “no reasonable officer would think it lawful” to bar Q-Pod residents from services routinely available to others and emphasized that participation in congregate religious services is “well established.” As a result, First Amendment and state law claims for the two appellants have been reinstated and remanded to district court.
Jamie Durling argued the appeal with Andrew Fishman under supervision from litigation partner Bill Michael.