Court rules former Louisiana inmate cannot sue prison officials in religious dispute over long hair

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a Louisiana man cannot sue prison officials for shaving his head despite presenting a court ruling allowing him to keep his hair for religious reasons as a Rastafarian. The majority held that a federal law protecting prisoners' religious rights does not authorize lawsuits for monetary damages under the Constitution’s spending clause. A dissent argued the ruling leaves prisoners without remedies for religious freedom violations.