Hoevenaar v. Lazaroff

REEVES, District Judge.

Plaintiff Cornelius Hoevenaar (Hoevenaar) is a native American of Cherokee ancestry currently serving a life sentence in the Ohio prison system. While incarcerated, Hoevenaar began to practice a native religion which contains as one of its tenets a requirement that he not cut his hair. As a result, Hoevenaar claims that prison rules regulating hair length violate his right to practice his religious beliefs and are in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq. (2000).

Following a hearing on the…