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176 F.3d 1082

Docket No. 99-1852.

Cofer v. Schriro

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Submitted April 26, 1999.

Filed May 10, 1999.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied June 18, 1999.

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1999-05-10

Cited by 2 later decisions — most recently August 2001

1 federal appellate ·

1 counsel of record

Applies 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act))

Relies on Reed v. Faulkner

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by (per_curiam) · Decided 1999-05-10

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1*1083Dwight E. Cofer, pro se.

¶2Before: MURPHY, WOLLMAN, and BEAM, Circuit Judges.

¶3PER CURIAM.

¶4In his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint, Missouri inmate Dwight Cofer alleged numerous constitutional violations, including an intermittent requirement that he cut his hair. Cofer pleaded that such a requirement infringes the free exercise of his Rastafarian religion. The district court found the complaint frivolous, denied leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and dismissed the complaint. Upon consideration of the record before the district court, we affirm, except for the dismissal of Cofer’s free-exercise claim.

¶5We do not disagree with the district court’s conclusion that security concerns permit prison officers to require Cofer to cut his hair, but we find no evidentiary basis in the record of this case, which is still at the initial screening stage, for applying the cases cited by the district court. Liberally read, Cofer’s still-uncontested pleadings establish an intermittent, unexplained requirement that he cut his hair, a requirement he finds offensive because of his adherence to the Rastafarian religion. Such a claim is not frivolous. See Jones v. Schriro, No. 98-3929 (8th Cir. Apr. 9, 1999) (remanding dismissal of Rastafarian’s claim as frivolous); Reed v. Faulkner, 842 F.2d 960, 963-64 (7th Cir.1988) (remanding because evidence before district court did not support judgment rejecting Rastafarian’s free speech and equal protection claims).

¶6We agree, however, with the dismissal of Cofer’s other claims. Thus, we remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

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