Prisoner cannot collect damages for violation of "Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act"
In Cardinal v. Metrish, it was essentially admitted that the Michigan Department of Corrections violated the RLUIPA by denying Cardinal proper meals. He filed suit against the warden in charge. The Court rejected his claim, finding that the statute mandating the proper treatment of religion in state institutions did not adequately express the state's willingness to waive sovereign immunity rights against a money judgment. Cardinal, and people like him whose religious beliefs were not legally observed, could object to the violation but could not enforce the RLUIPA by collecting a money judgment.