MATTER OF GRIFFIN v. Coughlin

Judge Ciparick and I would affirm the lower courts’ rejection of petitioner’s lawsuit. The majority centers its reversal and grant of relief in this case on coercion. That must, however, be coupled with a finding that the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment (ASAT) Program of the New York State Department of Correctional Services fosters a religious practice in the first place. The building blocks rest also on the attribution to the ASAT Program of "religious-oriented practices and precepts” (majority opn, at 677 et seq.) culled together from the Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) Twelve Step…