James Perkins, an inmate at Bartholomew County Jail during three separate periods between 2023 and 2024, claims jail officials violated his First Amendment rights by repeatedly denying his requests to wear a cross necklace while allowing other inmates to wear similar jewelry. Perkins identified as Christian and filed multiple grievances about the denials, which defendants Christopher Lane, Lydia John, and Shane Hickman allegedly ignored. The case includes claims under the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
Judge Brookman noted the disconnect between the court's screening order, which allowed claims for all three detention periods, and defendants' motion, which only addressed incidents from May to August 2024. 'It is unclear why Defendants' summary judgment motion and evidence fails to address two of the three time periods alleged in Mr. Perkins's complaint,' Brookman wrote, questioning whether the omission was 'inadvertent' or intentional partial summary judgment.
The court previously screened Perkins's amended complaint in January 2025, allowing him to proceed with constitutional and statutory claims covering his detention periods from June to August 2023, September to November 2023, and May to August 2024. Defendants filed their summary judgment motion in November 2025, but Perkins did not respond to the filing.
Defendants now have until May 8, 2026, to either supplement their motion to address all claims or file notice that they seek only partial summary judgment. If they choose the first option, Perkins will have 30 days to respond to claims from 2023, followed by a 14-day reply period for defendants. The ruling underscores that even unopposed summary judgment motions must demonstrate entitlement to judgment based on undisputed facts.