By Morris Malakoff, JTNews Correspondent
There is no question of Dennis Florer’s guilt in a crime that involved stealing a truck at a dealership and then attempting to use it to run over a salesman. For that, he is sitting in a state prison for a decade. And it isn’t his first time depending on the state for “three hots and a cot,” as some people refer to the penitentiary.
But he has found a new hobby to fill his hours of incarceration. He has become a jailhouse lawyer who has decided he is Jewish and is being denied his civil rights when it comes to his religious beliefs.
His case has wound its way through the federal district court and made it to a three-judge panel at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals late last year. Now it is caught up in what for a layman would appear to be a Kafkaesque limbo where it may be remanded back to federal district court or could be dismissed. That decision likely will come later this summer.
If it wasn’t for the angst, stress and cost that this self-converted Jew is causing the community, particularly those trying to assist people in Florer’s situation, the situation might even be laughable.
The case centers on Florer, one of 400 inmates in the state claiming to be Jewish, saying he was denied his right to religious practice by the state and, by extension, the Seattle-based Jewish Prisoner Services International, an organization overseen by Chaplain Gary Friedman.
Friedman says the reality is that there are about two dozen authentic Jews in the state penal system.
Friedman had written an expert report for the state Department of Corrections in 2006 concerning Florer and his claim to being Jewish. Florer never has been able to confirm his conversion or prove he has a Jewish mother, despite his claims to being Orthodox.
Florer had previously demanded a Torah and a calendar, both of which eventually were supplied to him. He was getting a kosher diet as well, though he claimed he was being deprived of that when he was refused a serving of baklava.
When Florer filed his federal lawsuit, the federal district court dismissed Jewish Prisoner Services International as a party to the suit. But the three-judge panel re-instituted the suit, saying the organization was working in concert with the state. That is where the case was sitting as of May 24.
According to senior assistant state attorney general Dan Judge, the state was scheduled to file for an en banc hearing before 15 judges of the 9th Circuit on May 26.
“We are asking them to dismiss the case, as Mr. Florer is getting everything he has asked for, including attending services,” he said.
Judge said the court would ask Florer’s attorneys, the pro bono Law Clinic at the University of Washington Law School, for a response. From there the judges of the 9th Circuit would vote on whether or not to remand the case back to the district court for a re-hearing or dismiss the action.
In the meantime, Friedman says that more hangs in the balance than just an ersatz Jew who he feels is looking for a monetary settlement.
“If Florer prevails, it would cause a collapse of the support system that exists for the penal system among non-profits,” he said. “It isn’t just religious groups, but all the others that work to resettle convicts and provide other human services to those in the penal system.
“This suit would mean that anyone who does something in a prison would be liable to a lawsuit like this one.”
Friedman said that while there are many good people doing lots of good work, the reality is that no one is getting rich doing it and few have the money to hire lawyers to fend off those who want to target them.
“We are a small organization with little money,” he said. “That is the reality with many non-profits involved with the corrections system. If this ruling were to come to pass, most of us would just walk away. We would have to. That would be unfortunate for all of us, in and out of jail. Now, that would be a crime.”