New York – An Orthodox Jewish woman who had been arrested in 1999 did not have a constitutional right to keep her head scarf on while she was being photographed at a New York City jail, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
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A three-judge panel of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that it was reasonable for officials at the Correctional Facility to require that prisoners be photographed without head coverings so that they could be easily identified.
“The policy is reasonably related to the city’s unassailable interests in identifying prisoners and maintaining prison and prisoner safety and security,” the court said in a summary order affirming a lower-court ruling in favor of the city in federal court in Manhattan.
Ah hah. So where are these same “judges” and “rulings” when it comes to Muslims????
I once tried to get my drivers license with a snood on, and they said I would have to remove my head covering for the picture or come back another day. They used the same argument as with the women in jail. I guess it makes sense, but…..what about a muslim women? Would they expect the same?
I took my drivers license picture with a pre-tied bandana tichel on, and no one said a boo. And if they would have, I would have sued and/or picked up and moved to Eretz Yisroel (bli neder). A chutzpadik nation the USA has become and this is all part of Acharis Hayamim and Biyas HaMashiach.
I wouldn’t equate having your picture taken for a drivers license with having it taken because you were arrested. Let’s stick to the story. The ruling was for someone arrested and nothing else.
No one who’s going to prison is allowed to wear a head covering for their ID photo. There are security issues involved.
It seems strange that at present a picture taken and which could be photoshopped to closely approximate what the inmate looks like without a tichel/snood
I highly doubt the Supreme Court of the United States will grant an appeal from this case certiorari.
It’s about time we stop complaining about how tough it is to keep Halocho in prison. Helping people in prison keep Mitzvos is counter-productive; people see no reason why they shouldn’t risk a stay there.
We should spend the energy on educating the generation how to be law abiding and not behave in ways that get one near prisons.
Collect the stories and publish them. “10 reasons why you don’t want to go to prison”:
– You are making a Hillul Hashem
– You won’t always get Kosher food
– You won’t be able to dress according to Halocho
– You will have trouble keeping Shabbos
– You won’t be able to daven in a Minyan
– You will have to deal with lots of non-Jews and their comments
– Etc…
To those speaking of licences. If a Muslim woman wanted to be pictured in a chador we would be outraged. How would this picture really id her. You threaten to sue, you threaten to move. Move on. A photo with a tichel is not a photo which will hide id when driving.
To those who were upset over religious implications of a woman in prison. Yes security concerns trump. A person who is in prison loses rights. A man cannot sue to daven with a minyan. This woman cannot win a case. Her photo will be taken without headcovering, and no court will intervene. If you wish to be frum try to be careful and not commit a crime.
Lots of people are assuming she committed a crime. Sometimes people get arrested even though they haven’t committed a crime.
SF2K1 brings up the issue of smuggling, but if that were the issue, the question would have been about strip searches, not covering the hair.
The court seems to have held that it’s harder to identify someone whose hair is covered than someone whose hair isn’t covered. While that’s probably true, since she always covers her hair, when would there be a situation in which a picture of her with uncovered hair would help identify her?
And what if the picture is taken with her hair uncovered and she then covers it? or she gets her hair cut? or a picture of a man with a mustache? and that already affects the face, not the surrounding parts!
Don’t kid yourself, technology is advanced enough for this not to be an issue. Regarding security, they could search her before and then have her cover it back for the picture.
why is it that everyone here is SOOO frum when it comes to this, yet nobody, NOBODY, has anything to say about the fact that she broke the law? Is that not a bigger avaira? What kind of nation have we become?