Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Misael Cordero v. Gregory Kelley, Individually and as former Senior Correctional Police Officer, East Jersey State Prison, et al.
IFP petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 23-1815 · judgment March 19, 2026
Questions presented
-
Are atheist prison staffs in New Jersey entitled to qualified immunity for depriving Christian prisoners from receiving the Christian literature needed to practice Christianity?
-
Is the constitutional right of prisoners to receive the Christian literature necessary to practice Christianity clearly established by precedents of this Honorable Court and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution?
-
Are New Jersey federal courts required to give any weight to policies from the New Jersey Department of Corrections, that allow prisoners to receive the Christian literature needed to practice their Christian religion, when deciding whether state prisoners’ constitutional rights to said literature is clearly established?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Misael Cordero
For respondent
Dorothy M. Rodriguez
New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
Case
Subject area
First Amendment (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Order
Order list, October 19, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 01 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/16/2026.
- Sep 14 2026Waiver of right of respondents Gregory Kelley and Bruce Davis to respond filed.
- May 27 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due September 18, 2026)