The Michigan chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed Judge Mark A. Goldsmith’s opinion and order allowing a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Muslim to proceed against Oakland County Sheriff, Micheal Bouchard, and two sheriff’s deputies working for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
READ THE ORDER.
In 2024, CAIR-MI filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Cierra Gellani, a Muslim woman from Dearborn, after she was forced to remove her hijab (Islamic head scarf) for a booking photo by Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. After being forced to remove her hijab she was subject to a cross gender search and denied the ability to wear her hijab while she was held in Oakland County Jail.
SEE: Muslim group plans to sue Oakland Co. sheriff over ‘forcible removal’ of woman’s hijab
“We welcome the judge allowing this case to proceed toward trial. In this day and age there is no basis for any woman who is in custody to have her hijab removed for a booking photograph that is later disseminated online. Nor should any Muslim woman be forced to walk through any jail facility after having her hijab removed,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. “What happened to Ms. Gellani is a gross violation of her rights and a significant defilement of her sincerely held religious beliefs. CAIR-MI has been forced time and time again to take to the courts to enforce and protect the rights of Muslim women in Michigan during law enforcement encounters. We will not stop taking municipalities to court until every last one of them has and enforces a policy that is in line with the constitutional rights of Muslim women to wear their hijab, even during law enforcement encounters.”
“We attempted to resolve this matter with the sheriff’s office but were left with no choice but to bring litigation in this matter to restore Ms. Gellani’s rights after Oakland County Sheriff’s Office attempted to push the blame back on Ms. Gellani instead of admitting their mistakes and working to make it right,” said CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy V. Doukoure. “If the sheriff’s office will not take responsibility and correct its mistakes, we have no choice but to look to the courts to force it to do what’s right and we look forward to proceeding through the court process to seek justice for Ms. Gellani.”
BACKGROUNDER:
The Defendants, which included the Oakland County Sheriff, Micheal Bouchard and two Sheriff’s Deputies sought to have Gellani’s case dismissed. On January 27, 2025, Judge Goldsmith issued an Order and Opinion on the Defendant’s request indicating that Gellani’s suit would carry forward for declaratory relief and monetary damages for the hijab removal, cross gender search and the publication of Gelanni’s hijabless booking photo to Oakland County Jails public website.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Gellani follows a series of successful lawsuits against other municipalities and the Michigan Department of Corrections for the forcible removal of Muslim detainees’ hijabs for public facing photos. In fact, in 2024, CAIR-MI settled a similar lawsuit against Kent County Sheriff’s Office.
SEE: CAIR-MI files federal lawsuit after Muslim woman forced to remove hijab for booking photo
SEE: Michigan prisons sued for ID photos of Muslim women without hijabs
SEE: Ferndale police settle with Muslim woman over hijab removal lawsuit
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director, Dawud Walid (248) 842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure, (586) 943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com