CAPLES v. Patti Wachtendorf, Warden; Mike Schierbrock, Security Director; John Fedler, Security Director; Michelle Waddle, Unit Manager Defendants (2021)

[Unpublished]

Montez Caples is an inmate in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) at the Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP). In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, Caples claimed IDOC and ISP officials infringed on his First Amendment rights to freely exercise his “Hebrew Israelite” religion when they denied him vendor-produced kosher meals for Passover and Sukkot while he was housed in an administrative segregation unit. The district court ¹ determined all defendants were entitled to qualified immunity and granted summary judgment in their favor. Caples appeals.

After a searching and careful review of the record and arguments on appeal, we conclude the grant of summary judgment was appropriate. See Boudoin v. Harsson, 962 F.3d 1034, 1039 (8th Cir. 2020) (standard of review); Goff v. Graves, 362 F.3d 543, 549 (8th Cir. 2004) (concluding that no constitutional violation occurred since the prison's ban on religious food in a segregation unit was “reasonably related to the legitimate penological interest of preserving institutional security”). Because defendants are entitled to qualified immunity, we affirm. See 8th Cir. 47B.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The Honorable Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa.

PER CURIAM.