Saturday, March 08, 2003 6:07:46 PM
skeballlarry, I did find an article allowing a Muslim woman to challenge the Florida driver's license photo law, dated June 28, 2002. The last part of the article frames the legal issues. I would doubt that there has been a higher court decision in such a short period ot time.
http://www.naplesnews.com/02/06/florida/d789674a.htm
Judge: Muslim woman can challenge driver's license photo law
Friday, June 28, 2002
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press
ORLANDO — A judge ruled a Muslim woman can pursue her legal fight to wear a veil for a driver license photo, despite objections from the state that it jeopardizes public safety.
Orange County Circuit Judge Ted Coleman denied a motion Thursday by the state to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by Sultaana Freeman, whose driver license was revoked when she refused to replace her photograph with one showing her face unveiled.
[AK edit: photo did not link; go to link above for article with photo]
Sultaana Freeman, 34, holds her daughter, Sauda Freeman, 7 months, in Orlando, Fla., in this January 2002 photo. Freeman is fighting in court, Thursday June 27, 2002, for her right to wear a veil on her driver's license photo. Freeman said she was allowed to wear the veil for her license photo in Illinois and for a Florida license issued early last year. But state officials demanded Freeman pose without her veil in November, following checks of records prompted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Jessica Mann/AP Photo
Freeman is suing to get her license back with a photo that hides most of her face, except her eyes, behind a veil known as a niqab. The 34-year-old homemaker from Winter Park wears the veil for religious reasons. Some Muslims believe that only a woman's husband and family members should see her face.
Freeman didn't appear at the hearing.
"We want justice to prevail," said her husband, Abdul-Maalik Freeman, who owns a landscaping business. "The only way you can do that is to bring it to trial."
In her lawsuit, Freeman said the demand to show her face for the photo violated Florida's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, her right to privacy and due process.
"We're just practicing our religion," Abdul-Maalik Freeman said. "We're not looking for attention. We're following the commandments of God."
But having a face visible in a driver license photos is a matter of public safety since criminals are often identified through their driver license photos and the photos guarantee the swift identification of Florida motorists, said Jason Vail, an assistant state attorney general.
"It doesn't target religion," Vail said of the requirement. "It targets everyone."
When Freeman applied for a Florida driver license last year after moving from Illinois, she had no problems getting a license wearing the veil. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles told her to replace the photo only after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said her attorney, Howard Marks.
"Apparently, after Sept. 11, the state changed the interpretation of the law," Marks said.
Eleven other states allow women to wear veils for license photos, and there are exceptions to the requirement, such as probationary licenses and seven-day permits, which don't require photos, Marks argued.
After the hearing, Marks said driver licenses weren't set up to be national identification cards.
"If the state believes we need to photograph and fingerprint everybody for identification, than that's something else," Marks said.
http://www.naplesnews.com/02/06/florida/d789674a.htm
Judge: Muslim woman can challenge driver's license photo law
Friday, June 28, 2002
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press
ORLANDO — A judge ruled a Muslim woman can pursue her legal fight to wear a veil for a driver license photo, despite objections from the state that it jeopardizes public safety.
Orange County Circuit Judge Ted Coleman denied a motion Thursday by the state to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by Sultaana Freeman, whose driver license was revoked when she refused to replace her photograph with one showing her face unveiled.
[AK edit: photo did not link; go to link above for article with photo]
Sultaana Freeman, 34, holds her daughter, Sauda Freeman, 7 months, in Orlando, Fla., in this January 2002 photo. Freeman is fighting in court, Thursday June 27, 2002, for her right to wear a veil on her driver's license photo. Freeman said she was allowed to wear the veil for her license photo in Illinois and for a Florida license issued early last year. But state officials demanded Freeman pose without her veil in November, following checks of records prompted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Jessica Mann/AP Photo
Freeman is suing to get her license back with a photo that hides most of her face, except her eyes, behind a veil known as a niqab. The 34-year-old homemaker from Winter Park wears the veil for religious reasons. Some Muslims believe that only a woman's husband and family members should see her face.
Freeman didn't appear at the hearing.
"We want justice to prevail," said her husband, Abdul-Maalik Freeman, who owns a landscaping business. "The only way you can do that is to bring it to trial."
In her lawsuit, Freeman said the demand to show her face for the photo violated Florida's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, her right to privacy and due process.
"We're just practicing our religion," Abdul-Maalik Freeman said. "We're not looking for attention. We're following the commandments of God."
But having a face visible in a driver license photos is a matter of public safety since criminals are often identified through their driver license photos and the photos guarantee the swift identification of Florida motorists, said Jason Vail, an assistant state attorney general.
"It doesn't target religion," Vail said of the requirement. "It targets everyone."
When Freeman applied for a Florida driver license last year after moving from Illinois, she had no problems getting a license wearing the veil. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles told her to replace the photo only after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said her attorney, Howard Marks.
"Apparently, after Sept. 11, the state changed the interpretation of the law," Marks said.
Eleven other states allow women to wear veils for license photos, and there are exceptions to the requirement, such as probationary licenses and seven-day permits, which don't require photos, Marks argued.
After the hearing, Marks said driver licenses weren't set up to be national identification cards.
"If the state believes we need to photograph and fingerprint everybody for identification, than that's something else," Marks said.
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