Non-Traditional Jew Entitled To Kosher Meals In Prison.

A Messianic Jew incarcerated in state prison was denied kosher meals.  Prison officials did not dispute the sincerity of the prisoner’s beliefs, but said the prisoner was not eligible to partake in an existing kosher meal program because he was not a traditional Jew and his needs could be satisfied with a vegetarian diet.  In prison, kosher food is desired by non-Jewish inmates because it is perceived as better tasting and of higher quality.  The Court of Appeal found the prison’s categorization to be an artificial construct and  ruled prison officials deprived the prisoner of freely exercising his religion in violation of his statutory rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 [42 U.S.C. §2000cc]. In re: Margarito Jesus Garcia  (Cal. App. Third Dist.; January 11, 2012) 202 Cal.App.4th 892, [136 Cal.Rptr.3d 298].