Reginald Howard v. Howard Skolnik

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: April 23, 2018
• Docket: 16-15679
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS APR 23 2018 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

REGINALD CLARENCE HOWARD, No. 16-15679

Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:08-cv-00728-GMN- GWF v.

HOWARD SKOLNIK, Director (NDOC); MEMORANDUM * DWIGHT NEVEN, Warden; ISIDRO BACA, Warden; JULIO CALDERIN, Chaplain; DWAYNE DEAL, Caseworker; AWP J. HENSON,

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Gloria M. Navarro, Chief Judge, Presiding

April 19, 2018**

Before: TROTT, SILVERMAN and TALLMAN, Circuit Judges.

Reginald Clarence Howard, a Nevada state prisoner, appeals pro se from the

district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that

defendants violated his right to the free exercise of religion. We have jurisdiction

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo both summary judgment and an

officer’s entitlement to qualified immunity. Hughes v. Kisela, 841 F.3d 1081,

1084 (9th Cir. 2016). We may affirm on any basis supported by the record.

Hartmann v. California Dept. of Corr. & Rehab., 707 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir.

2013). We affirm.

An inmate’s First Amendment right of the free exercise of religion is subject

to certain limitations. As the Supreme Court said in O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz,

482 U.S. 342 (1987),

[I]ncarceration brings about the necessary withdrawal or limitation of many privileges and rights, a retraction justified by the considerations underlying our penal system. The limitations on the exercise of constitutional rights arise both from the fact of incarceration and from valid penological objectives including -- deterrence of crime, rehabilitation of prisoners, and institutional security.

Id. at 348 (citations and quotations omitted).

The unchallenged factual reason for the Nevada Department of Correction’s

cancellation of Nation of Islam services at High Desert State Prison was

institutional security. There was no dispute about the legitimacy of this reason

sufficient to generate a genuine controversy requiring resolution by a trial.

AFFIRMED.

2 16-15679