In re Garcia

Petitioner Margarito Jesus Garcia, a prison inmate subject to the custody and control of California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the denial of his request to participate in an existing kosher meals program. Petitioner contends his religion, Messianic Judaism, requires that he maintain a kosher diet, and the denial of his request violates his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq.)

We conclude that, under the circumstances presented, prison officials are in violation of petitioner’s statutory rights under RLUIPA. Prison officials *896 have not disputed either the sincerity of petitioner’s religious beliefs or the requirement that he maintain a kosher diet. Nor have they demonstrated the burden imposed on petitioner’s religious beliefs by virtue of his exclusion from the kosher meals program furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest, as required by RLUIPA. In light of the foregoing conclusion, it is unnecessary to…