Paul T. Stavenjord, Appellant v. Joseph Schmidt, Craig Turnbull, and Mike Ensch, Appellees

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court reversed the superior court’s grant of summary judgment to the Department of Corrections and remanded for further proceedings. It held that the Department, as the moving party, bore the initial burden at summary judgment, that RLUIPA does not require a plaintiff to prove a requested accommodation is religiously necessary, and that the sincerity of the inmate’s religious belief is a factual issue unsuitable for summary disposition.