Supreme Court Denies Rastafarian's Dreadlock Rights Appeal

WHO:

CNN - Damon Landor, a devout Rastafarian, was the individual at the center of the case.

CNN - Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion for the Supreme Court.

CNN - Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticized the majority decision.

CNN - Rachel Laser is the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

WHAT:

Al Jazeera - The Supreme Court's ruling upheld a lower court's decision that incarcerated individuals cannot seek financial damages from individual employees, even in cases where their rights were violated.

Al Jazeera - Justice Neil Gorsuch stated, “Mr. Landor’s case cannot proceed against them any more than a breach of contract action might proceed against a defendant who never formed a contract.”

Al Jazeera - Landor expressed his determination to continue pursuing justice, stating, “I am disappointed but not defeated. What happened to me violated my faith and my dignity. I will continue pursuing accountability. What happened to me should not happen to anyone else.”

NBC News Politics - The Supreme Court's ruling was a 6-3 decision against Landor, marking a rare instance where the conservative majority sided against a religious claim.

NBC News Politics - The Supreme Court ruled that Landor could not sue state officials over his treatment because local officials were not aware of the details of a federal law that protects religion.

NBC News Politics - The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Landor was not entitled to sue, condemning the treatment he endured but stating that an earlier appeals court precedent settled the case against him.

NBC News Politics - Landor's case at the Supreme Court rested on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA.

NBC News Politics - Louisiana countered that RLUIPA is effectively a spending contract between state officials and the federal government, which provides funding for state prisons.

NBC News Politics - The Supreme Court's ruling was a 6-3 decision against Landor, marking a rare instance where the conservative majority sided against a religious claim.

ABC News - The Supreme Court denied Landor's lawsuit after he was forcibly shaved bald while in custody at the Louisiana prison.

CNN - Justice Neil Gorsuch stated, “Mr. Landor would have us hold, for the first time, that so long as a penny of federal spending makes its way to an individual, however indirectly, Congress can regulate his conduct directly based on the fiction that he has consented to regulation.”

NBC News Politics - The Supreme Court ruled that Landor could not sue state officials over his treatment because local officials were not aware of the details of a federal law that protects religion.

CNN - Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stated that the court's decision will make it much more difficult for prisoners to drag officials to court over allegations that their rights have been impugned.

CNN - Jackson criticized the majority's rationale, asserting it effectively reduced "some of Congress’s greatest legislative achievements" to "the wheelings-and-dealings of an especially wealthy private party."

CNN - The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Landor was not entitled to sue, condemning the treatment he endured but stating that an earlier appeals court precedent settled the case against him.

CNN - The Supreme Court ruled against Landor, stating he could not sue prison officials for cutting his dreadlocks.

CNN - The ruling was a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court.

CNN - Landor's dreadlocks were cut by prison guards at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center.

CNN - Landor had a few weeks left in his five-month prison sentence for drug possession when the incident occurred.

CNN - The court's decision will make it harder for believers of other faiths to enforce federal religious protections in prison.

WHERE:

CNN - The incident took place at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Louisiana.

WHEN:

CNN - Landor began serving his five-month prison sentence in 2020.

CNN - Landor appealed to the Supreme Court in 2024.

WHY:

CNN - Louisiana argued that RLUIPA is effectively a spending contract between state officials and the federal government, which provides funding for state prisons.

CNN - Landor claimed that cutting his dreadlocks violated his religious beliefs as a Rastafarian.

CNN - The court's majority opinion indicated a hesitancy to allow Americans to sue to enforce their rights without explicit authority from Congress.

HOW:

NBC News Politics - Landor had previously taken a promise known as the Nazarite vow to not cut his hair.

NBC News Politics - Guards at the prison handcuffed Landor to a chair and shaved off his knee-length dreadlocks, discarding a judicial opinion he had provided that required them to allow dreadlocks for religious purposes.

CNN - Landor had previously provided guards with a copy of an appeals court ruling from 2017 that allowed prisoners to have dreadlocks, which they discarded before cutting his hair.

CNN - Landor had previously taken a promise known as the Nazarite vow to not cut his hair.

CNN - Guards at the prison handcuffed Landor to a chair and shaved off his knee-length dreadlocks, discarding a judicial opinion he had provided that required them to allow dreadlocks for religious purposes.

CNN - Guards at the prison held Landor down and cut his knee-length dreadlocks, which he had grown over nearly two decades.

CNN - Landor had previously provided guards with a judicial opinion that required them to allow dreadlocks for religious purposes, which they discarded.

(UPDATED June 24, 2026 06:20 UTC)

The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's decision that prevents incarcerated individuals from seeking financial damages from individual employees, even in cases of rights violations. Justice Neil Gorsuch emphasized that Mr. Landor’s case cannot move forward against them, comparing it to a breach of contract action against someone who never formed a contract. Despite the setback, Landor expressed his determination to continue pursuing justice, stating that he is disappointed but not defeated, and that what happened to him violated his faith and dignity.

(UPDATED June 23, 2026 23:19 UTC)

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court decided against Landor in a 6-3 vote, marking a rare occasion where the conservative majority opposed a religious claim. The Court determined that Landor could not sue state officials over his treatment, as local officials were unaware of the federal law protecting religious practices, specifically the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. This case stemmed from an incident where prison guards handcuffed Landor to a chair and shaved off his knee-length dreadlocks, disregarding a judicial opinion that mandated accommodations for his religious beliefs.

(UPDATED June 23, 2026 21:29 UTC)

The Supreme Court has issued a 6-3 ruling against Landor, a decision that marks a rare instance of the conservative majority siding against a religious claim. This ruling comes after Landor's lawsuit was denied, stemming from an incident where he was forcibly shaved bald while in custody at a Louisiana prison. Landor had previously shown guards a 2017 appeals court ruling that allowed prisoners to have dreadlocks, but they disregarded it before cutting his hair.

(UPDATED June 23, 2026 19:36 UTC)

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court decided that Landor could not sue state officials regarding his treatment, as those local officials were unaware of the specifics of a federal law designed to protect religious practices. Justice Neil Gorsuch emphasized that this case could set a precedent, suggesting that even minimal federal spending could allow Congress to regulate individual conduct under the assumption of consent. It's important to note that Landor had previously committed to the Nazarite vow, which prohibits cutting his hair.

(UPDATED June 23, 2026 17:36 UTC)

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has expressed that the recent court decision will significantly hinder prisoners' ability to challenge officials in court over rights violations. She criticized the majority's reasoning, claiming it diminishes important legislative achievements to mere negotiations by wealthy private entities. This ruling came after the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Landor could not sue, despite condemning his treatment, as a previous appeals court decision had already resolved the matter against him.

(UPDATED June 23, 2026 15:54 UTC)

The Supreme Court has ruled against Damon Landor, a devout Rastafarian, stating he cannot sue prison officials for cutting his knee-length dreadlocks at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Louisiana. This 6-3 decision, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, has raised concerns about the ability of believers from various faiths to enforce federal religious protections in prison, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticized the majority opinion. Landor, who was nearing the end of a five-month sentence for drug possession, argued that the cutting of his hair violated his religious beliefs, but the court expressed hesitancy about allowing Americans to sue to enforce their rights without clear authority from Congress.