1st Amendment – Freedom of Religion

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Donald Lee McDonald v. George Adamson

Case No.: 15-1305

Officials: BAUER, POSNER, and MANION, Circuit Judges

Focus: 1^st Amendment – Freedom of Religion

In 2013, Illinois state prison inmate Donald McDonald filed what should have been a typical federal constitutional suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. McDonald alleged that Defendants Warden Marcus Hardy, Assistant Warden Daryl Edwards, and Chaplain George Adamson were denying his First Amendment free exercise rights as a practicing Muslim. He sought only injunctive relief in the district court.    McDonald’s case hit a procedural snag because three years earlier he had filed a claim for damages based on the same facts in the Illinois Court of Claims. More than two years later, when he had received no decision from the Court of Claims, he filed this case pro se in the district court. After the Court of Claims denied McDonald’s request for relief, the district court dismissed his federal complaint as barred by res judicata. On appeal, defendants concede that McDonald’s suit is not barred by res judicata. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for proceedings in conformity with this opinion. We express no opinion regarding the merits of defendants’ remaining arguments on appeal, which are not properly before the court at this stage.

Reversed and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.