Cutter v. Wilkinson

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) was adopted by Congress with the support of the ACLU and many other groups. One of its principal purposes is to ensure that the free exercise rights of prisoners and other institutionalized persons are not needlessly violated in the absence of a compelling governmental interest. The government officials in this case have challenged the constitutionality of RLUIPA as a violation of the Establishment Clause. The ACLU brief defends the facial constitutionality of the Act as a legitimate accommodation of free exercise rights.