Muslim Woman Jailed for 10 Days for Head Scarf

ATLANTA - A Muslim woman arrested for refusing to take off her head scarf at a courthouse security checkpoint said Wednesday that she felt her human and civil rights were violated. A judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court, said police in Douglasville, a city of about 20,000 people on Atlanta's west suburban outskirts. Valentine violated a court policy that prohibits people from wearing any headgear in court, police said after they arrested her Tuesday. Black America Web.com


I know the ACLU will be all over this one. This is a clear violation of civil rights. For what reason should this woman be forced to remove her scarf?

Kelley Jackson, a spokeswoman for Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, said state law doesn't permit or prohibit head scarfs."It's at the discretion of the judge and the sheriffs and is up to the security officers in the court house to enforce their decision," she said.Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from New Haven, Conn., said the incident reminded her of stories she'd heard of the civil rights-era South.

Is this judge following the law? Or is this just another case of Southern style justice that continues in America in 2008?