Smith v. Dep't of Corr.

*191Petitioner, an inmate at Two Rivers Correctional Facility, challenges the validity of certain policies and administrative rules adopted by respondent, the Department of Corrections (DOC). For the reasons explained below, we conclude that the challenged policies that govern searches of dreadlocks and Native American medicine bags are not rules subject to the formalities of rulemaking because the policies set forth how DOC's validly adopted rules governing searches of religious and spiritual items, including hair and garments, necessarily operate in specific contexts; therefore, we lack…