Judge Denies Woman's Right to Wear Veil in Photo ~*KG*~

Judge rejects driver's license veil request

(CNN) -- A Florida judge Friday rejected a woman's request to have her face mostly covered by a veil in the photograph on her state driver's license, the state attorney general's office told CNN.

The 18-page ruling was issued by Circuit Court Judge Janet C. Thorpe in Orlando.

Sultaana Freeman had testified that a state order requesting that she remove her veil -- a niqab, which covers all of her face except her eyes -- infringed on her religious freedom.

"It's totally changed my life and I really feel like a prisoner in my home," said Freeman in testimony before the court last week.

Judge Thorpe ruled that although Freeman held a sincere religious belief that she should wear the niqab in front of all strangers, she did not prove that "the photo requirement itself substantially burdens her right to free exercise of religion," or that the momentarily lifting the veil in a private room for a photo taken by a female officer would be such a burden.

On the other hand, the judge said in the ruling, the state did show that "having access to photo image identification is essential to promote" the state's "compelling interest in protecting the public."

Freeman initially was allowed to wear a veil in her driver's license photograph, as she was allowed to do for a license she got when living in Illinois, but then was asked to retake the photo, showing her face. When she refused, the state revoked her license.

Lawyers for the state argued that the case touched on public safety issues, saying a driver's license showing only a covered face would hinder law enforcement officials.

The Associated Press reported that Florida Assistant Attorney General Jason Vail argued that having an easily identifiable photo on a driver's license is a matter of public safety.

"It's the primary method of identification in Florida and the nation," Vail said in a report from the AP. "I don't think there can be any doubt there is a public safety interest."

Freeman's attorneys argued that state officials didn't care that she wore a veil in her Florida driver's license photo until after the September 11 attacks of 2001 -- an allegation the state denies, the AP reported.

Freeman, a convert to Islam previously known as Sandra Kellar, wore her veil for the photo on the Florida driver's license she obtained after moving to the state in 2001, according to The Associated Press.

Nine months later, the AP reported, she received a letter from the state warning that it would revoke her license unless she returned for a photo with her face uncovered. Freeman claimed her religious beliefs require her to keep her head and face covered out of modesty and that her faith prohibits her face from being photographed, according to the AP.

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