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Georgia Judicial Council Permits Religious Head Coverings In Courtrooms

By Howard M. Friedman

In a press release issued Friday, Georgia's Supreme Court announced that all courts in the state will now permit head coverings for religious or medical reasons to be worn in court rooms. AP reports on the policy change impelled by an incident last year when a judge in Douglasville (GA) sentenced a woman to ten days for contempt for refusing to remove her hijab. After protests, the woman was quickly released. (See prior posting.) The new policy adopted by the Judicial Council of Georgia provides:

Head coverings are prohibited from the courtroom except in cases where the covering is worn for medical or religious reasons. To the extent security requires a search of a person wearing a head covering for medical or religious reasons, the individual has the option of having the inspection performed by a same-sex officer in a private area. The individual is allowed to put his or her own head covering back on after the inspection is complete.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on July 26, 2009 (boomark / email).