ABDUL v. INCH

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TALLAHASSEE DIVISION JABBAAR ABDUL, Plaintiff, v. Case No.: 4:21cv153-MW/MJF MARK INCH, et al., Defendants. ___________________________/ ORDER ACCEPTING AND ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION This Court has considered, without hearing, the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation. ECF No. 76. This Court recognizes that Plaintiff filed his motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction contemporaneously with his complaint on April 5, 2021, and thus, he did not delay in moving for relief after filing this case. See ECF Nos. 1 and 3. However, Plaintiff fails to explain the delay in seeking emergency relief from as early as the date of the first noted incident when Plaintiff was forced to shave his beard in March 2019, see ECF No. 3 at 1, or subsequent incidents, and the filing of the complaint. As the Eleventh Circuit has recognized, asserting an evolving religious understanding of one’s faith could help explain such a delay so as not to undercut a claim of irreparable harm. See Powers v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corrs., 691 F. App’x 581 , 583–84 (11th Cir. 2017). But here, Plaintiff has provided no such explanation. Accordingly, upon consideration, no objections having been filed by the parties, IT IS ORDERED: The report and recommendation, ECF No. 76, is accepted and adopted as this Court’s opinion. Plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, ECF No. 3, is DENIED. This case is remanded to the Magistrate Judge for further proceedings on Plaintiff’s official-capacity claim against Dixon under RLUIPA for injunctive relief based on Plaintiff’s allegation that the FDC’s grooming policy substantially burdens the tenet of Plaintiff’s religion that requires him to grow a fist-length beard. SO ORDERED on July 16, 2024. s/Mark E. Walker Chief United States District Judge