Tacoma Municipal Court To Change No-Hat Policy

In Tacoma, Washington, municipal court judges are revising a long-standing policy against wearing hats in the courtroom to clearly permit head coverings worn for religious or medical purposes. The Tacoma News Tribune today reports that the move follows complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations after Mujaahidah Sayfullah, a local real estate agent, was asked to leave Judge David Ladenburg's courtroom because she would not remove her hijab. Sayfullah said she has been a juror in Pierce County Superior Court twice in the last year or so, and no one ever mentioned her Muslim head scarf. Judge Ladenburg has apologized, saying he thought that Muslim religious law permitted individuals to remove their headwear.