Court: Woman had right to wear Muslim scarf in cell

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

Unless Orange County officials can show it was a security risk, a Muslim woman had the right to wear a headscarf when

 

 By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ

 she was taken into custody by deputies in court, an 11-judge panel ruled Tuesday.

In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also reinstated a lawsuit filed by Souhair Khatib, who sued the county after deputies forced her to remove her hijab when she was taken into custody in a Santa Ana courtroom.

The decision will send back to court a lawsuit that had initially been decided in favor of the county. The case had been dismissed twice, by a trial court judge and a three-judge appeals court, when the courts decided that a holding cell in a courthouse is not covered by a federal law that protects the religious practices of prisoners.

Under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, prisoners are allowed to wear similar religious garments as long as they do not pose security risks. The previous decisions declared the courthouse cell was not covered under the act because it was a temporary holding facility.

But the Tuesday ruling reversed that decision, rejecting the argument that was made by county.

Khatib was detained in November 2006 after a judge revoked her probation for a welfare-fraud conviction. Deputies ordered her to remove her head scarf while she was detained for several hours. She was released the same day.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also stated the county can still argue that Khatib was required to remove her scarf because of security concerns but only if it "was the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling government interest."

Contact the writer: [e-mail] or 949-454-7361

 

 

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