Kemp v. Liebel
877 F.3d 346
7th Cir.2017Background
- Kemp and Woodring, Jewish inmates at Pendleton, were transferred in April 2014 to Wabash Valley so they could receive kosher meals produced in a newly centralized kosher kitchen program.
- At Pendleton they had weekly congregate Jewish worship and study led/certified by outside Lubavitch rabbis; Wabash Valley initially offered no Jewish volunteer leaders or inmate-certification, so no congregate Jewish services occurred there for several months.
- David Liebel, DOC Director of Religious and Volunteer Services, helped develop kosher kitchen plans and notified kosher inmates they would be moved; he did not select inmates’ destination facilities but could request transfer delays and knew Wabash Valley lacked Jewish services at the time.
- Liebel attempted to recruit Jewish volunteers and met with local rabbis; congregate Jewish services and inmate certifications began at Wabash Valley in January 2015.
- Kemp and Woodring sued Liebel under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Free Exercise Clause) and RLUIPA, seeking relief for the transfer’s alleged interference with group worship; district court granted Liebel qualified immunity on summary judgment; the Seventh Circuit affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Liebel violated clearly established Free Exercise rights by not delaying transfers until congregate Jewish services were available | Transfer forced prisoners to choose between kosher diet and group worship; this substantial interference violated Free Exercise | No clearly established right to immediate congregate worship or inmate-led services absent qualified outside leaders; Liebel acted reasonably and attempted to recruit volunteers | Held for Liebel: plaintiffs failed to show a clearly established right was violated; qualified immunity applies |
| Whether Turner framework created clearly established law requiring delays of transfers that disrupt congregate worship | Turner protects religious practices and plaintiffs claim transfers that prevent group worship must meet Turner’s reasonableness standard | Turner is a general test and does not clearly establish that transfers must be delayed absent an obvious case | Held Turner is too general to clearly establish liability here; plaintiffs needed more fact-specific precedent |
| Whether prison officials must allow inmate-led services when outside volunteers are unavailable | Plaintiffs argue denial of group worship (including inmate-led) burdened practice | Precedent permits temporary limits on inmate-led services for security and authenticity concerns; delay may be reasonable | Held no controlling precedent clearly establishes a right to inmate-led group worship where volunteers are unavailable |
| Whether Liebel’s conduct was so egregious that immunity is unavailable | Plaintiffs say Liebel knew services were unavailable and had some role in transfers so violation was obvious | Liebel made efforts to recruit volunteers, lacked final authority over placement, and acted reasonably in context | Held not an obvious or egregious violation; qualified immunity applies |
Key Cases Cited
- Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (qualified immunity balancing and two-step analysis)
- Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (establishing modern qualified immunity standard)
- Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (prison regulations affecting religious rights evaluated under reasonableness test)
- Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215 (no due-process right to remain at a particular prison)
- Johnson-Bey v. Lane, 863 F.2d 1308 (7th Cir.) (prison not required to allow inmate-run services if reasonable delay/substitutes exist)
- Hadi v. Horn, 830 F.2d 779 (7th Cir.) (applying Turner to uphold restriction on unsupervised services for security)
- Thompson v. Holm, 809 F.3d 376 (7th Cir.) (prisoners’ right to religious diet clearly established; distinguished from right to group worship)
- White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548 (clarifying need for particularized clearly established law)