Supreme Court blocks inmate damages suit over dreadlocks (opens in new tab)

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that former Louisiana inmate Damon Landor cannot seek money damages from individual prison officials under a federal religious-rights law after guards forcibly shaved his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari beliefs. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the conservative majority, while the court’s three liberal justices dissented. The case centered on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a 2000 federal law that protects religious exerc...