Warsoldier

California prisoner Billy Soza Warsoldier appeals from the district court’s denial of his request for a preliminary injunction in his suit challenging a California Department of Corrections (“CDC”) hair grooming policy, which requires that all male inmates maintain their hair no longer than three inches. Warsoldier refuses to adhere to the grooming policy because of his sincere religious belief that he may cut his hair only upon the death of a loved one. He argues that the policy, and CDC’s refusal to permit a religious exception, violates his right to religious freedom. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292 (a)(1), and for the reasons set forth below, we reverse the district court’s denial of Warsoldier’s request for a preliminary injunction.

Factual And ProceduRAL Baokground

The facts here are undisputed by the parties. Billy Soza Warsoldier is a Cahuil-la Native American. He has participated in his tribe’s cultural, social, and religious affairs throughout his life. One tenet of Warsoldier’s religious faith teaches that hair symbolizes and embodies the knowl edge a person acquires during a lifetime and that hair may be cut only upon the death of a close relative.…