Shabazz v. Secretary, Department of Corrections et al

Filing 229

PERMANENT INJUNCTION ORDER. Signed by Judge John E. Steele on 8/14/2023. (RKR)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
ABDUL HAKEEN JAHMAL NASEER
SHABAZZ aka Owen D. Denson,
Jr.,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No:

2:17-cv-648-JES-NPM

RICKY DIXON,
Defendant.
PERMANENT INJUNCTION ORDER
After holding a bench trial of this action, the Court finds
that Plaintiff is entitled to a permanent injunction.

In his

Fifth Amended Complaint, Plaintiff seeks permanent injunctive and
declaratory

relief

challenging

FDOC’s

grooming

policy

as

it

pertains to the length of beard he may grow under the Religious
Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLIUPA”), 42 U.S.C.
§ 2000cc-2000cc-5.

(Doc. #178).

Plaintiff is an inmate in the

Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) and an observant of the
Sunni Muslim faith, which mandates he grow an untrimmed beard.
The

Florida

Administrative

Code,

Chapter

33-602.101,

requires

inmates to be clean shaven or “grow and maintain a maximum halfinch beard” (the “grooming policy”), which substantially burdens
Plaintiff’s religious tenets.

For the reasons stated in the

contemporaneous Opinion and Order, the Court finds Plaintiff is
entitled to an exemption from the grooming policy under the RLUIPA.

Furthermore, this Court has weighed the potential harm suffered by
both parties and has concluded that Plaintiff will face greater
harm if Defendant is not enjoined from enforcing its beard grooming
policy as to Plaintiff.

Plaintiff would be irreparably harmed if

a permanent injunction was not issued in this matter allowing
Plaintiff to grow an untrimmed beard, and legal remedies would not
adequately compensate for that harm.

Additionally, the issuance

of the permanent injunction is not adverse to the public interest.
ACCORDINGLY, it is hereby
ORDERED:
Plaintiff’s request for a permanent injunction (Doc. #178, p.
6) is GRANTED IN PART and Defendant, Defendant’s officers, agents,
servants, and employees are enjoined from enforcing the grooming
policy in Chapter 33-602.101 of the Florida Administrative Code
against Plaintiff to the extent that Plaintiff shall be permitted
to maintain an untrimmed beard.

Plaintiff shall not be subject

to any disciplinary measures for violating the beard grooming
policy while this Order is in effect.
DONE and ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida, this
of August 2023.

Copies:
Counsel of Record

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