Jewish Inmate Loses Suit Over Chaplain’s Denial of Kosher Diet

A law enforcement chaplain has qualified immunity from a suit alleging he violated a Jewish prisoner’s religious rights by denying his request for a Kosher diet because the constitutional violation wasn’t clearly established at the time, the Tenth Circuit said.

Hosea Cannon was entitled to summary judgment in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit in which Craig Ralston alleged Cannon violated his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said in an unpublished decision.

Cannon was a chaplain for the Denver sheriff’s department and was responsible for coordinating inmates’ special ...