Sheriff's settlement being finalized in lawsuit over woman's head scarf

By Mike Cruz on October 21, 2008 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department may have reached a settlement with a Muslim woman who sued and alleged her religious freedom was violated when she was forced to remove a head scarf while being booked at a county jail in 2005.

A document filed in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, by lawyers for the Sheriff's Department says a settlement was reached in the matter. Sheriff's officials confirmed Tuesday that its Civil Liabilities Division is aware of the document.

"But nothing has been finalized yet," said Sgt. Dave Phelps, a department spokesman. The department's position is that the settlement is not yet completed, and he could not comment further.

Phelps referred a request for comment to the department's lawyer in the case, Los Angeles-based Dana Fox, who could not be immediately reached.

The lawsuit stemmed from the arrest of Jameelah Medina, 30, of Rialto, at the Pomona Metrolink station on suspicion of having an invalid train pass on June 7, 2005. Medina was taken to West Valley Detention Center, in Rancho Cucamonga.

Medina's ticket had been altered, her lawyer conceded in an earlier interview. But then, the arrest wasn't the issue. The lawsuit targeted how the county acted after it had arrested her, according to Medina's lawyer Hector Villagra, director of the American Civil Liberties Union, Orange County office.

Medina claimed in the lawsuit that her First Amendment rights were violated when deputies forced her to remove her hijab, a head scarf covering the neck and shoulders during. Sheriff's officials contended the head scarf represented a security risk.

Criminal charges were not filed in connection with the incident in neither Los Angeles nor San Bernardino counties.

Medina was arrested and pleaded guilty to identity theft in 2001, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office confirmed last year. She spent two days in jail and served three years probation.

After serving probation, Medina's record was expunged, and her guilty plea was changed to not guilty.