Judge Dismisses Case Muslim Woman Won't Remove Veil

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:18 pm

Mich. Judge Dismisses Small-Claims Case After Muslim Woman Who Filed It Refuses to Remove Veil

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. -- A judge dismissed a small-claims court case filed by a Muslim woman after she refused to remove her veil when she testified.

Ginnnah Muhammad, 42, wore a niqab _ a scarf and veil that cover her head and face, leaving only the eyes visible _ during a court hearing this month in Hamtramck, a city surrounded by Detroit. She was contesting a $2,750 charge from a rental-car company.

District Judge Paul Paruk told her he needed to see her face to judge her truthfulness and gave her a choice: take off the veil while testifying or have the case dismissed. She kept it on.

...Paruk said he told Muhammad to remove her veil Oct. 11 because it is his job to determine whether witnesses are telling the truth. "Part of that, you need to identify the witness and you need to look at the witness and watch how they testify," he said.

Michigan law lacks rules governing how judges handle religious attire of people in court, so judges have leeway on how to run their courtrooms.

Read the rest here.

Post by **Savonarola** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 12:13 am

I don't think we've heard the last of this one.

Barbara Fitzpatrick · Post by **Barbara Fitzpatrick** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:49 am

Yep. The next step is for her to get a civil rights lawyer and sue the judge. She has the right, at least supposedly, guaranteed by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution.