Legal
Colorado ACLU Cases

Legal Department Docket, 2002-Present

Case Name: Sheline v. Ortiz
Case Number: No. 05-cv-1978, United States District Court, District of Colorado
ACLU Case Number: 2005-08

Description: This lawsuit was filed on behalf of Timothy Sheline, an Orthodox Jewish prisoner in the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC). His sincerely-held religious beliefs require that he maintain a kosher diet, which the DOC was providing until April, 2005. The DOC revoked Mr. Sheline’s kosher diet because a guard in the dining hall reported that Mr. Sheline was caught taking two packages of butter and two packages of salad dressing from his food tray and putting them in his pocket. The DOC acted on the basis of Administrative Regulation 1550-06, which sets out the grounds and the procedures for granting and revoking religious diets. The lawsuit argues that the diet-revocation provisions of this regulation violate the right of prisoners to religious freedom and due process of law.

Issues: Religious freedom, due process, rights of prisoners

ACLU of Colorado Attorneys: Mark Silverstein, Jennifer Lee

Links to Selected Documents:

“ACLU sues Colorado DOC on behalf of Jewish prisoner whose kosher diet was revoked for allegedly placing packages of butter and salad dressing in his pocket,” ACLU News Release, October 11, 2005

“After ACLU lawsuit, Colorado DOC agrees to restore Jewish prisoner’s kosher diet,” ACLU News Release, October 13, 2005

First Amended Complaint

Plaintiff’s response to motion to dismiss

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