Georgia Court Apologizes to Sikh American Denied Entry into Court House Due to his Turban

Released on = April 5, 2007, 11:58 pm

Press Release Author = Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Industry = Law

Press Release Summary = Sikh American man in Georgia receives apology for being
denied access to courtroom due to relgiously mandated turban. Lawrenceville city
officials agreed to formally change their policy which now states, :"[I]f the
headwear is donned in observance of a religious tenet, the Court Services officers
will not ask the person to remove the headwear."

Press Release Body = Washington D.C. - March 29, 2007: Earlier this month, the Sikh
American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation's oldest Sikh
American civil rights and advocacy organization, received a formal apology from the
City of Lawrenceville, Georgia, for wrongfully denying Mr. Jasmeen Singh Nanda entry
to the city courthouse.

Late last Fall, Mr. Nanda arrived at the Lawrenceville Municipal Court to contest a
minor traffic violation he received. After Mr. Nanda successfully passed through the
security screening, two Lawrenceville police officers informed Mr. Nanda that,
"[w]hatever you have on your head, you need to remove it immediately." Mr. Nanda
explained that he was not wearing a hat, but rather a religious head covering called
a turban.

After trying to explain the significance of the Sikh turban, Mr. Nanda was accosted
(assaulted) by one of the officers who disrespectfully touched and squeezed his
turban several times while asking him, \"[w]hat is that on top of your head?" Mr.
Nanda was threatened with arrest and told that he would, "need to show me your hair
before you enter the court room or get out of here and get out of my face and stop
wasting our time." Mr. Nanda at this point left the court house and immediately
informed SALDEF of the incident.

SALDEF asked the City of Lawrenceville to revise its current court room policy
relating to religious garb and to allow SALDEF to conduct a cultural awareness
presentation for the court personnel. SALDEF presented a model security screening
procedure and protocol that is respectful of not only the Sikh turban, but an
individual wearing a religious head covering.

Subsequent to the communication and discussion with SALDEF on court room policy
relating to religious garb currently being implemented in Lawrenceville, city
officials agreed to formally change their policy and to have SALDEF conduct a
cultural awareness presentation for the officers and court room personnel in the
Spring. The formal change in policy states, "[I]f the headwear is donned in
observance of a religious tenet, the Court Services officers will not ask the person
to remove the headwear."

SALDEF thanks Lawrenceville City Attorney, Anthony Powell and Police Chief Randy
Johnson for their desire to resolve this issue amicably with a formal change of
policy and increased awareness of the Sikh American community, a growing population
in the Southern United States. SALDEF would also like to acknowledge the courage of
Jasmeen Singh Nanda for seeking to protect his First Amendment rights.

Web Site = http://www.saldef.org

Contact Details = Rajbir Singh Datta
info@saldef.org
202-393-2700 ext. 27

  • Printer Friendly Format
  • Back to previous page...
  • Back to home page...
  • Submit your press releases...
  •