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95 Prison J. 3 (2015)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl95 and id is 1 raw text is: Article The Prison journal 2015, Vol. 95(1) 3-22 Untangling the Dynamics ©2014 SAGE Publications Reprints and permissions: of Judicial Decision sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0032885514562757 Making and tp.sagepub.co Free Exercise Claims $GE Benjamin Meade' and John D. Burrow2 Abstract The federal courts have played a central role in establishing important rights for inmates, including the Free Exercise of religion. However, there is little empirical research on the nexus between court decision making, inmates' Free Exercise claims, and correctional policies/practices. This research is an attempt to understand this decision-making dynamic by using a sample of 330 federal cases from 2000 to 2007 to examine legal and nonlegal factors that are suspected to affect Free Exercise claims. Importantly, security concerns and legal precedents are among the strongest predictors of whether courts will find in favor of inmates who make Free Exercise claims. Keywords prison, inmates, religion, Free Exercise, judicial decision-making Introduction Since the 1970s, a number of correctional policies have faced legal challenges by both inmates and prison reform advocates, including the conditions of con- finement, access to mail/reading material, and conjugal visits/visitations (Association Harvard Law Review, 2002; Gutterman, 1995; Mannetta, 1998; Miness, 2000). Although some headway has been made in securing important 'James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA 2University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA Corresponding Author: Benjamin Meade, Department of justice Studies, James Madison University, 90 Bluestone Drive, MSC 1205, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA. Email: meadebd@jmu.edu