Judge Jails Muslim Woman For Wearing Headscarf To Court

A city judge in Georgia has in the past eight days barred two Muslim women wearing Islamic headscarves from entering his courtroom, jailing one, and prompting an inquiry from the civil rights office at the US department of justice.

Judge Keith Rollins of Douglasville, Georgia, yesterday ordered Lisa Valentine, 41, to jail after she refused to remove her scarf before entering the courtroom, citing rules governing appropriate dress. Last week, Sabreen Abdulrahmaan was forced to leave Rollins’s court before her son’s probation hearing because she would not remove her scarf.

“It’s a religious right,” Valentine said. “It’s our constitutional right that we can have our religious practices, no matter if it’s a courtroom or not. He’s supposed to be handing out justice, not taking away civil rights.”