I was confused about this too. The 3rd Circuit opinion makes it sound as
if Directive #78 was religion-neutral. But the district court opinion
was a little more unclear. Judge Bartle made statements like,
"Philadelphia Police Directive 78 bars the wearing of religious dress or
symbols under all circumstances when a police officer is in uniform."
That sounded to me like an explicit ban on religious attire.
So I looked at the Directive 78 that Dave Sidhu sent. That does not
single religious gear out specifically. It does have certain
exceptions, such as for jewelry (wedding rings, class rings, id
bracelets, small post earrings for women only). And relating to what
Professor Finkleman said before, there's actually an allowance for
"scarves" if they are "black or navy blue," and "captains and above may
wear white scarves." Perhaps a khimar can fit in there.
Best,
Chris
______________________
Christopher C. Lund
Assistant Professor of Law
Mississippi College School of Law
151 E. Griffith St.
Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 925-7141 (office)
(601) 925-7113 (fax)
Papers: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=363402
>>> vol...@law.ucla.edu 4/8/2009 11:16 AM >>>
Is the rule really against wearing religious attire? I couldn't
quickly find Police Department Directive 78 -- the relevant rule --
online, but as I understand it, it sets forth a specific uniform, and
all deviations from the uniform are prohibited, whether they are
religious or otherwise. I doubt, for instance, that the department
would allow the wearing of political buttons, or ethnic symbols, or
just
the officer's favorite hat. Or am I missing something?
Eugene
> -----Original Message-----
> From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu
> [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of David Cruz
> Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 8:24 AM
> To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics
> Subject: RE: Law.com - 3rd Circuit Rejects Muslim Cop's Bid
> to Wear ReligiousScarf
>
> I don't understand why counsel would not have argued starting
> with the complaint that a rule against wearing *religious*
> symbols or attire was not a "neutral law of general
> applicability" and thus should receive strict scrutiny under
> the federal Free Exercise Clause.
>
> David B. Cruz
> Professor of Law
> University of Southern California Gould School of Law
> 699 Exposition Blvd.
> Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071
> U.S.A.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu
> [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Joel Sogol
> Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 2:05 AM
> To: Religionlaw
> Subject: Law.com - 3rd Circuit Rejects Muslim Cop's Bid to
> Wear Religious Scarf
>
> A Muslim woman who works as a Philadelphia police officer has
> lost her court battle to wear a religious head scarf on the
> job now that the 3rd U.S.
> Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that forcing the
> department to accommodate her would compromise the city's
> interest in maintaining "religious neutrality" in its police force.
>
> http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202429736190
> _______________________________________________
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