Oral Argument Set for Prison Kosher Food Case: April 18, 2013 Florida Prison System One of Few Remaining Holdouts Restricting Access to Kosher Meals
Media Contact
Ryan Colby 202-349-7219 media@becketlaw.org
Additional Information
WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, Becket will present oral arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit concerning the denial of kosher food to Jewish prisoners in the state of Florida. The case of Bruce Rich, an Orthodox Jewish prison inmate who has been denied a kosher diet by the Florida Department of Corrections, has received overwhelming support in amicus briefs from eighteen different organizations and the Unites States government.
For several years, the state of Florida has refused to provide a kosher diet to Jewish inmates, despite the fact that thirty-five states and the federal government already do so, and despite the fact that it would cost less than a fraction of one percent of Florida’s annual food budget. In addition, there is mounting evidence that efforts to accommodate prisoners’ religious beliefs reduce violence and recidivism.
What: Oral arguments on the state of Florida’s denial of kosher foods to Jewish prisoners
Who: Luke Goodrich, Deputy General Counsel, Becket Law
When: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Courtroom 339, Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building, 56 Forsyth Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia
Becket attorneys will be available immediately for comment following the hearing. For more information, or to arrange an interview with one of the attorneys, please contact Melinda Skea at media@becketlaw.org or call 202.349.7224.
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Becket Law is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. Becket has an 18-year history of defending religious liberty for people of all faiths. Its attorneys are recognized as experts in the field of church-state law, and they recently won a 9-0 victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, which The Wall Street Journal called one of “the most important religious liberty cases in a half century.”