Judge recommends dismissing lawsuit brought by American Indian inmates

BANGOR – A federal judge is recommending that a lawsuit be dismissed that was filed by American Indian inmates claiming their First Amendment religious rights were being denied at the Maine State Prison.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk said a motion by Warden Jeffrey Merrill and other prison officials seeking summary judgment should be granted.

A group of 10 inmates filed the lawsuit last year citing issues such as lack of access to a sweat lodge, powwows and ceremonial food and music.

The defendants said the suit should be dismissed because federal law mandates that no legal action can be filed regarding prison conditions until inmates exhaust all administrative remedies. The inmates said the suit was about religious freedom, not “prison conditions,” but Kravchuk disagreed.

Kravchuk’s recommendation is subject to review by a U.S. district judge, but it is highly unusual for district judges to overturn magistrate recommendations.