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Ramirez v. Collier
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| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-5592 | 5th Cir. | Nov 9, 2021 | Mar 24, 2022 | 8-1 | Roberts | OT 2021 |
Holding: Petitioner John Ramirez is likely to succeed on his claims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act because Texas’ restrictions on religious touch and audible prayer in the execution chamber burden religious exercise and are not the least restrictive means of furthering the state’s compelling interests.
Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 8-1, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts on March 24, 2022. Justices Sotomayor and Kavanaugh filed concurring opinions. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Court bars Texas from executing inmate unless it allows pastor’s touch and audible prayer (Amy Howe, March 24, 2022)
- Announcement of opinions for Thursday, March 24 (complete) (Angie Gou, March 24, 2022)
- Court debates inmate’s request for prayer and touch during execution, but a key justice remains silent (Amy Howe, November 9, 2021)
- Court to clarify the right of death-row inmates to receive spiritual guidance during execution (Amy Howe, November 8, 2021)
- Court blocks execution, will weigh in on inmate’s religious-liberty claims (Amy Howe, September 8, 2021)
- Texas inmate seeks stay of execution over request for pastor to minister to him in final moments (Amy Howe, September 7, 2021)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Sep 07 2021 | Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due October 7, 2021) |
| Sep 07 2021 | Application (21A33) for a stay of execution of sentence of death, submitted to Justice Alito. |
| Sep 07 2021 | Motion for leave to file amicus brief and motion for leave to file brief in compliance with Rule 33.2 filed by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. |
| Sep 08 2021 | Brief of respondent Collier, Bryan, et al. in opposition filed. |
| Sep 08 2021 | Reply of applicant John H. Ramirez filed. |
| Sep 08 2021 | Application (21A33) referred to the Court. |
| Sep 08 2021 | Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED. |
| Sep 08 2021 | The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is granted. The motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis and the petition for a writ of certiorari are granted. The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in October or November 2021. |
| Sep 09 2021 | This case is set for argument on Monday, November 1, 2021. Petitioner's brief on the merits, and any amicus curiae briefs in support of petitioner or in support of neither party, are to be filed on or before Monday, September 27, 2021. Respondents' brief on the merits, and any amicus curiae briefs in support of respondents, are to be filed on or before Friday, October 15, 2021. Petitioner's reply brief is due on or before 2 p.m., Monday, October 25, 2021. |
| Sep 09 2021 | ARGUMENT SET FOR Monday, November 1, 2021. |
| Sep 10 2021 | The parties are directed to submit briefs that address whether petitioner adequately exhausted his audible prayer claim under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). The parties are also directed to address whether petitioner has satisfied his burden under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) to demonstrate that a sincerely held religious belief has been substantially burdened by restrictions on either audible prayer or physical contact. The parties are further directed to address whether the government has satisfied its burden under RLUIPA to demonstrate its policy is the least restrictive means of advancing a compelling government interest. Finally, the parties are directed to address the type of equitable relief petitioner is seeking, the appropriate standard for this relief, and whether that standard has been met here. See Hill v. McDonough, 547 U. S. 573, 584 (2006) (setting forth a four- factor test for equitable relief). The parties may address other relevant issues, avoiding repetition of discussion in prior briefing. |
| Sep 13 2021 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, John Ramirez |
| Sep 13 2021 | Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Bryan Collier |
| Sep 21 2021 | CIRCULATED |
| Sep 22 2021 | Motion for leave to file Volume II of the joint appendix under seal filed by respondent Bryan Collier. |
| Sep 22 2021 | Lodging proposal letter of respondents filed. |
| Sep 22 2021 | Letter in opposition to respondents' lodging proposal filed by petitioner. |
| Sep 23 2021 | Reply letter regarding lodging proposal filed by respondents. |
| Sep 23 2021 | Sur-reply letter regarding respondents lodging proposal filed by petitioner. |
| Sep 27 2021 | Joint appendix (Volume I) filed. (Statement of costs filed). (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief of petitioner John Ramirez filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of United States in support of neither party filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of First Liberty Institute filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of The Freedom From Religion Foundation, et al. in support of neither party filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Protect the First Foundation filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Alliance Defending Freedom filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Former Prison Officials filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Spiritual Advisors and Former Corrections Officials filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Christian Legal Society, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Religious-Liberty Scholars Douglas Laycock, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Scholars of the PLRA and Prison Grievance Systems filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 29 2021 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit. |
| Sep 29 2021 | Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae, for divided argument, and for enlargement of time for oral argument filed. |
| Oct 01 2021 | Motion of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae, for divided argument, and for enlargement of time for oral argument filed. |
| Oct 12 2021 | Motion for leave to file Volume II of the joint appendix under seal GRANTED. |
| Oct 12 2021 | Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae, for divided argument, and for enlargement of time for oral argument GRANTED. |
| Oct 12 2021 | Motion of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae, for divided argument, and for enlargement of time for oral argument DENIED. |
| Oct 13 2021 | Respondents' September 22, 2021 lodging proposal approved, and submission of the non-record materials is requested by the Clerk. |
| Oct 15 2021 | Brief of respondents Bryan Collier filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 15 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Arizona, et al., filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 15 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Maria Chavon Aguilar, Fernando Castro, Pablo Castro Jr., & Roberto Salcedo Jr. filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 15 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 19 2021 | Respondents' lodging material received (including redacted declaration for public record and the unredacted sealed declaration). |
| Oct 22 2021 | ARGUMENT RESCHEDULED for Tuesday, November 9, 2021. |
| Oct 25 2021 | Reply of petitioner John Ramirez filed. (Distributed) |
| Nov 09 2021 | Argued. For petitioner: Seth Kretzer, Houston, Tex. For United States, as amicus curiae: Eric J. Feigin, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Judd E. Stone, II, Solicitor General, Austin, Tex. |
| Mar 24 2022 | Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Sotomayor, J., and Kavanaugh, J., filed concurring opinions. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion. |
| Apr 25 2022 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
| Jun 28 2022 | JUDGMENT FEE RECIEVED |
