People v. Lewis

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Plaintiff, a convicted felon, challenges as a violation of his First Amendment rights the application to him of defendant’s directive requiring that male prisoners receive an initial haircut. Plaintiff is an avowed Rastafarian, wears his hair in dreadlocks, and has not cut his hair for 20 or more years. It is undisputed that he is sincere in his beliefs, that they are of religious nature, and that a haircut would impinge on those beliefs. The challenged directive provides that males received as new…