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Dallas County changes policy to
settle turban case
WSN Network
 DALLAS: Dallas
County has revised its security screening procedures to settle a
lawsuit filed on behalf of a Sikh man who was ordered out of a
courtroom for refusing to remove his turban, a civil rights group
said Wednesday.
The new policy
revealed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas
calls for security personnel at all county buildings to allow people
wearing religious head coverings or other religious garments to walk
through a metal detector without removing the item. If the detector
beeps, security personnel will use a hand-held detector or conduct a
private search.
The policy was
developed by the county based on models provided by the Sikh
American Legal Defense and Education Fund. It led to the dismissal
last week of a case brought by the ACLU on behalf of Amardeep
Singh.
According to the
suit filed last year, Singh was ordered out of a Justice of the
Peace courtroom under threat of arrest in June 2006. Singh had gone
to defend himself from a traffic ticket when he was told by court
personnel and Judge Albert Bernard Cercone to remove his "hat." When
Singh tried to explain that wearing a turban is a required religious
practice for members of the Sikh faith, the judge and court
officials refused to hear his explanation.
"The
Constitution protects the right of Mr. Singh and every citizen to
access their government without compromising their religious
beliefs," said Lisa Graybill, legal director of the ACLU Foundation
of Texas.
"By applying this new policy, the county and Judge Cercone will help
ensure that right is respected in Dallas County."
Last year,
officials in
Lawrenceville,
Ga. revised their policy after a Sikh man was kept from entering the
court because of his turban, according to documents in the lawsuit.
A federal
guideline also revised last year allows air passengers to keep on
headwear such as turbans at screening checkpoints. It gives airport
screeners the option to pat down headwear at the metal detector if a
passenger does not want to remove it for personal reasons.
24 September 2008
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