From the per curiam in today's Tucker v. Gaddis, signed by Judges Carolyn Dineen King, James Graves, and James Ho:
For years, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ("TDCJ") has denied prisoner requests to hold religious gatherings for the Nation of Gods and Earths ("the Nation"). Originally, Texas denied such requests on the ground that it perceived the Nation as a racial supremacy group, and that allowing such an assembly would pose a security threat to the prison.
In response, Plaintiff George Lee Tucker II brought this suit against Steve Gaddis, TDCJ's Deputy Director of Volunteer Services and Special Populations, in the hope of vindicating the rights of the Nation's adherents to congregate. The suit was initially filed pro se over half a decade ago. But Tucker began receiving the aid of pro bono legal counsel a few years later.
The State now says that it has promulgated a new policy to govern congregation requests on behalf of the Nation's adherents. As a result, the State contends that this suit is now moot.
We disagree. The new policy merely allows Tucker to apply for a congregation. It does not in fact allow the Nation to congregate. To the contrary, any such requests remain subject to "time, space, and safety concerns." And to date, Texas has never permitted the Nation's adherents to congregate. Nor is there any indication that Texas will allow them to do so anytime soon. So this case is not moot. Accordingly, we reverse….
Here's Judge Ho's separate concurrence:
