Dallas County agrees to adopt SALDEF guidelines in settlement of lawsuit filed on behalf of Sikh American man Washington, DC – September 18, 2008: Yesterday, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, announced a legal resolution between Mr. Amardeep Singh and Dallas County, Texas. In response to a lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, at the behest of SALDEF, filed on behalf of Mr. Amardeep Singh, the Dallas County Commissioner’s Court voted yesterday to approve a new policy relating to security screening of visitors to all courtrooms in Dallas County. The new policy, which was based on a model screening policy developed by SALDEF, greatly enhances the ability of people of faith to enter courtrooms across Dallas County. The new policy is based on recommendations that SALDEF successfully had implemented in Georgia in 2007, and has also been provided to the Transportation Security Agency and other national security leaders. The policy gives Sikhs, Muslims, and Jews the right to maintain their religious head coverings without fear of being forced to remove it before entering a courtroom. “This is a tremendous victory for Amardeep, the Sikh American community, and all people of faith across this country”, said SALDEF National Director Rajbir Singh Datta. “We commend Dallas County for revising their policy to make sure that they protect the religious freedoms of all visitors to Dallas County courts.” The policy respects diversity and forces security personnel to treat all individuals “with proper consideration and respect” and also allows individuals who wear religious head coverings or other religious garments, to walk through metal detectors without removing the particular item of clothing. If the metal detector alarms, the policy requires use of a hand held metal detector and only allows for private, respectful searches of the religious clothing after all other non-intrusive means are exhausted. The lawsuit against Dallas County was filed in response to a June 2006 incident when Amardeep Singh appeared in Judge Albert Cercone’s court to contest a minor a traffic citation. Mr. Singh was denied entrance into the court due to his turban. Unfortunately, Judge Cercone threatened that if Mr. Singh did not leave the courtroom and stayed with his “hat” on, he would be arrested. SALDEF thanks the hard work and support of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Attorney Jerry Murad for his representation of Mr. Amardeep Singh. We urge all Sikh Americans to report any incidents of harassment, bullying, discrimination or assault to SALDEF and your local authorities immediately. If you or someone you know has been a victim of any racially motivated crime, please contact SALDEF directly toll free at 877-917-4547 or via email at info@saldef.org
