Gutierrez v. Saenz
Petition for certiorari granted. The June 12, 2020 order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit granting the motion to vacate the stay of execution previously issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas is vacated, and the case is remanded to the 5th Circuit with instructions to remand the case to the district court for further and prompt consideration of the merits of petitioner"s underlying claims regarding the presence of a spiritual advisor in the execution chamber in light of the district court"s November 24, 2020 findings of fact.
Issue
(1) Whether, under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the state"s decision to deprive Mr. Gutierrez of the opportunity to be accompanied during his execution by a religious adviser employed by the prison substantially burdens the exercise of his religion, requiring the state to justify the deprivation as the least restrictive means of advancing a compelling governmental interest; and (2) whether, for purposes of the free exercise clause, the state"s blanket policy of denying all prisoners the aid of a religious adviser at the time of the execution"adopted for the acknowledged purpose of avoiding the obligation to allow such a minister to a Buddhist prisoner"burdens Mr. Gutierrez"s exercise of religion without legitimate justification.
Recommended Citation: Gutierrez v. Saenz, SCOTUSblog, https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/gutierrez-v-saenz/