Click here to send your email to encourage U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet to make public safety a priority over political correctness and the U.S. Constitution the law over Sharia dress code.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a law suit on March 16, 2018 against the City of New York.   The lawsuit alleges that the New York Police Department wrongfully required the removal of the hijabs of Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz during their official arrest photographs
.
The City of New York filed a motion to dismiss.  

November 28, 2018, 12:00 PM, was set by the court for United States District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet to consider the City of New York’s motion to dismiss.  HOWEVER, the City of New York petitioned the court to delay the oral argument hearing pending settlement discussions and a new lawsuit with similar charges.  Judge Sweet approved the 30 day extension.

The following argument in part has been submitted to the court to counter the City of New York’s motion to dismiss.  

The City has recently produced documents that confirm the NYPD is still in possession of at least one photograph of Plaintiff Aziz without her hijab and at least one booking photograph of Plaintiff Clark. This maintenance practice, which the City has implemented as to photographs of Plaintiffs Clark and Aziz, causes Plaintiffs" substantial and lasting emotional distress." Their injuries are sufficient to confer standing and the attendant claims against the Photograph Policy are live, not moot.

Rather, Plaintiffs challenge an ongoing City practice of maintaining photographs that depict them uncovered, in violation of their sincerely-held religious beliefs. This practice harms Plaintiffs to this day. It harms Plaintiffs regardless of whether they are still physically held in Central Booking or any NYPD facility. And, unlike the City's authority, declaratory and/or injunctive relief outlawing the City's Photograph Policy would directly redress the continuing injury Plaintiffs suffer from the ongoing maintenance of their photographs following the coerced removal of their hijabs. Because the NYPD continues to retain photographs of Plaintiffs uncovered, and because those photographs remain viewable by (at least) NYPD personnel and other law enforcement agencies, Plaintiffs are not" free of the policy or practice that provoked [their] lawsuit in the first place."

A full unobstructed photo of the accused is needed at the time of arrest for public safety.   Deleting arrest photographs from official records could impair future investigations thus weakening public safety.

Florida Family Association sent out an alert on March 19, 2018 titled CAIR sues to force NYPD to allow women to wear hijabs during official arrest photographs.  The alert offered people an opportunity to send emails to encourage the New York Police Department to stand firm for the policy that requires removal of headgear, including hijabs, during official arrest photographs.  Florida Family Association sent out an alert on April 4, 2018 titled Judge considers CAIR lawsuit that seeks to force NYPD to allow women to wear hijabs during official arrest photographs. Florida Family Association sent out an alert on August 9, 2018 titled Judge considers motion to dismiss CAIR's lawsuit that seeks to force NYPD to allow women to wear hijabs during official arrest photographs. The last two alerts asked people to send emails to encourage the judge in this case to make public safety a priority over political correctness and the U.S. Constitution the law over Sharia dress code.

This alert offers another opportunity to send an email to the judge as he hears oral arguments for and against the City of New York's motion to dismiss Clark et al v. City of New York case #: 1:18-cv-02334 at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, November 28, 2018, in Courtroom 18C, United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007.  The judge could rule on the motion at the end of the hearing.  However, he will most likely issue a ruling weeks later.

The Council on American Islamic Relations’ lawsuit on behalf of Arwa Aziz and Jamilla Clark truly lacks merit.  Allowing any person alleged to have committed a crime and being admitted to prison to wear any headgear that obstructs the full identity of the perpetrator during the official arrest photograph defies logic and threatens public safety.   In particular to this lawsuit, a hijab blocks hair length, hair color, hair texture, ear size, ear shape and birth marks.

A full, unobstructed arrest photo is crucial to properly identify the inmate while in prison and track the accused through the criminal justice process.  A full arrest photo is also valuable for current and future investigations, crime prevention and public safety.

Most Muslim women in America do not wear a hijab.  Pew Research found that only forty three percent (43%) of American Muslim women wear hijabs according to an article published by NPR on April 21, 2011.  The NPR article states in part “The split between women who've covered and women who've never done so has existed for decades. But now a generation of women is taking off the headscarf, or hijab.”  Therefore, after seven years of “a generation of women taking off the hijab” the number of Muslim women now wearing the hijab in America is likely much less than forty three percent.

The hijab was invented in the 1970s over 1300 years after the Quran was written.  The truth is the hijab is not derived from the Quran but is legislated by Islamist dictates and fatwas that oppress and dominate woman.   Strict Islamic law, Sharia and fatwa enforcement requiring women to wear the hijab started only within the last 50 years.  Muslim women are currently protesting the Islamist dictates in Iran and Saudi Arabia.  The oppressive dictates of Sharia law, which are antithetical to the rights afforded all Americans by the United States Constitution, have no place governing police policy and interfering with public safety.

For more information regarding hijab history and application click here.

Florida Family Association has prepared an email for you to send to encourage U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet to make public safety a priority over political correctness and the U.S. Constitution the law over Sharia dress code.

To send your email, please click the following link, enter your name and email address then click the "Send Your Message" button. You may also edit the subject or message text if you wish.

Click here to send your email to encourage U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet to make public safety a priority over political correctness and the U.S. Constitution the law over Sharia dress code in this case.

Contact Information:

Senior District Court Judge Robert Workman Sweet
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
United States Courthouse
500 Pearl St.
New York, NY 10007-1312    Courtroom: 18C
Chambers Phone: (212) 805-0254
Deputy Phone: (212) 805-0124
Robert_W_Sweet@nysd.uscourts.gov
SweetNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov