For nearly twenty years, Damon Landor kept his dreadlocks, a symbol of his Rastafarian faith. However, while in prison, guards forcibly cut his hair, ignoring his religious beliefs. When he tried to sue the guards, the U.S. Supreme Court did not allow it. This decision was part of a busy day for the court, with three major cases decided by the same 6-3 vote. The conservative majority ruled in favor of religious freedom, gun ownership, and against global surveillance claims.
In the prison case, the court decided that inmates cannot sue individual prison staff for money. Justice Neil Gorsuch explained that under a federal law protecting religious practices, staff members are protected from lawsuits unless they agree to be sued.
The court also considered gun rights. It overturned a Hawaii law that banned guns in public places like restaurants and stores. The law required people with concealed carry permits to get permission from property owners before bringing guns inside. Three people and a gun rights group challenged the law. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the Hawaii law violated the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, stating it limited the right to carry guns for self-defense.
Finally, the court addressed a lawsuit against Cisco Systems, a technology company. Falun Gong practitioners, a spiritual group banned in China, sued Cisco. They claimed Cisco helped China monitor and suppress their community. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court's decision, limiting the ability to sue companies for human rights abuses abroad. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote that federal courts cannot create new legal reasons to sue for international violations. The court ruled that the laws used in the case did not allow lawsuits against companies for helping with human rights abuses.