19 April 2016

Muslim woman's lawsuit over head-scarf removal at jail dismissed

Both sides have agreed to dismiss without payment a Muslim woman's federal lawsuit claiming Oceana County Sheriff's Office deputies violated her constitutional rights by making her remove her head scarf when she was booked into the county jail.

Fatme Dakroub's lawsuit against the county, the sheriff's office, Sheriff Robert J. Farber and three jail officers was dismissed without any money changing hands, according to a filing Monday, April 18, at U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

The dismissal is final and by mutual agreement.

.... According to a court summary of the sheriff's response to the lawsuit after a status conference Sept. 9, Dakroub was required to be bareheaded only long enough to have a booking photo taken of her face "in a manner consistent with the photograph on the identification card or driver's license issued to her by the United Arab Emirates, and in her possession at the time of her arrest."

After that, during "her very brief stay in the Oceana County Jail," Dakroub was allowed to wear her own clothing and to cover her head with a hood attached to her shirt, the lawsuit response stated. [MLive] Read more