Judge Turk rules that RLUIPA is constitutional after all

In Madison v. Riter, Judge Turk of the W.D. Va. on the second go-round has opined that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act as opposed to the claims of a particular institutionalized person is indeed constitutional, notwithstanding his earlier views expressed in Madison v. Riter, 240 F. Supp.2d 566 (W.D. Va. 2003), rev’d 355 F.3d 310 (4th Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 125 S. Ct. 2536 (March 30, 2005).

Judge Turk concluded "that RLUIPA is valid Spending Clause legislation that is not barred by the Tenth, Eleventh or Fourteenth Amendments, the separation of powers doctrine, or the Establishment Clause," and certified his rulings for immediate appeal to the Fourth Circuit.