Marshall v. District of Columbia

• Decision Date: 11 April 1975
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 74-990.
• Citation: 392 F. Supp. 1012
• Parties: Melvin A. MARSHALL, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

392 F. Supp. 1012

Melvin A. MARSHALL, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 74-990.

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

April 11, 1975.

Martin L. Grossman, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Washington, D. C., for defendants.

Christine Dennis LeFlore, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHARLES R. RICHEY, District Judge.

This claim is now before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment on paragraphs seven and eight of the plaintiff's second amended complaint. The plaintiff was hired by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia on September 30, 1974, and was assigned to work as an undercover officer. On December 9, 1974, the plaintiff was transferred to the Police Academy, and was told he would have to cut his hair and beard to conform to the personal appearance and grooming requirements of Metropolitan Police Department General Order 1102.3.¹ The plaintiff informed the Police Department that he had taken a religious vow not to cut his hair or beard, and requested a waiver of the General Order. Although his request was not formally denied, the plaintiff was suspended on December 11, 1974. Thereafter, by letter dated January 23, 1975, he was officially terminated for failure to comply with General Order 1102.3. The letter also informed the plaintiff that no appeal from the dismissal was available.

The plaintiff now seeks to be reinstated on the Police Force, with back pay and tenure rights, without being forced to cut his hair or beard. He grounds his claim on three theories, and seeks a declaratory judgment as to each. First, he contends that his dismissal was violative of his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion. Second, he argues that the General Order violates his rights to due process and equal protection. Third, he argues that the Order is illegal under the D.C. Human Rights Law and D.C. Code § 4-130. This Court's jurisdiction is based upon 28 U.S.C. 1331(a).

I. GENERAL ORDER 1102.3 DOES NOT VIOLATE THE PLAINTIFF'S RIGHTS UNDER THE FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT.

The First Amendment issue raised by the plaintiff is a question of first impression in this Court. There does not appear to be a firm test uniformly applied in determining whether a statute or regulation is violative of the Free Exercise Clause.² While one test has been whether the statute is necessary to promote a compelling state interest, Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398, 403, 83 S.Ct. 1790, 10 L.Ed.2d 965 (1963), this Court finds most appropriate the test enunciated in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972); that is, whether the government interest to be furthered is "of sufficient magnitude to override the interest claiming protection under the Free Exercise Clause." 406 U.S. at 214, 92 S.Ct. at 1532.

General Order 1102.3 was issued on December 8, 1974 in response to citizen complaints about the appearance of police officers and because there was a "consensus" among police officials that relaxed grooming standards had resulted in the deterioration of the appearance of officers. (Affidavit of Maurice Cullinane, pp. 1-2, hereinafter "Affidavit"). In his affidavit, Maurice Cullinane, then Assistance Chief of Police for Field Operations and chairman of a committee charged by the Chief of Police with reviewing the department's appearance regulations, stated that, in his professional opinion, appearance standards are "essential, to the effective functioning of the department." (Affidavit, p. 4). He further explained the need for the regulations:

"One of the responsibilities of the force is to act as a deterrent to crime and as a visible symbol of lawful authority. In order to fulfill this responsibility, it is necessary that uniformed officers on the street be highly visible and quickly recognizable as police officers. For this reason, it is necessary for officers to have a distinctive and uniform appearance.

. . .

While the wearing of a uniform goes far towards creating a uniform appearance, grooming was also a factor considered by the committee in drafting the order."

(Affidavit, pp. 4-5). Easy identification of individuals as police officers is deemed by the Police Department to be necessary to ensure that citizens are aware of police presence, that orders of police officers will be obeyed, and to encourage citizens to come to the aid of a police officer in distress. Chief Cullinane further stated that the hair length and beard provisions of the order are designed to promote the projection by officers of a

"neutral image that would not provoke a strong negative reaction from any segment of the community, as well as an image that was sufficiently compatible with the traditional look of the uniformed officer so as not to raise questions in the minds of citizens as to whether a uniformed officer was really a police officer, in spite of his uniform."

(Affidavit, p. 6)

It appears to the Court that the provisions of General Order 1102.3 further a substantial governmental interest, namely, the projection of an image which facilitates the effective functioning of the police department necessary to ensure the safety and security of our citizens.³

The Court is faced, however, with deciding whether the interest described in the preceding paragraph is "of sufficient magnitude to override" plaintiff's freedom of religion interest.

The plaintiff alleges that General Order 1102.3 places an indirect burden on his free exercise of his religion, in that the Police Department has forced him to choose between his religious beliefs and economic hardship. The Court does not view the plaintiff's loss of employment as a severe economic hardship. Unlike the plaintiff in Sherbert, supra, he is not being denied sustenance; there appears to be no reason why he cannot successfully seek a different type of employment where he will be permitted to wear his hair and beard as his religious views dictate.⁴

The fact remains, however, that the plaintiff's free exercise of his religious beliefs is in conflict with the police regulations. The Court is fully aware that: "The door of the Free Exercise Clause stands tightly closed against any governmental regulation of religious beliefs as such, Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296, 303, 60 S.Ct. 900, 903, 84 L.Ed. 1213." Sherbert, supra, 374 U.S. at 402, 83 S.Ct. at 1793. It is a basic tenet of our society that: "The freedom to hold religious beliefs and opinions is absolute." Braunfeld v. Brown, supra, 366 U.S. 599 at 603, 81 S.Ct. 1144 at 1146, 6 L.Ed.2d 563. It is clear, however, that the police regulation in question makes no attempt to deny the plaintiff his right to hold his religious beliefs. Rather, an assumedly unforeseen collateral effect of the General Order is to force the plaintiff to violate his religious convictions if he wishes to be a police officer. Thus, the question is whether the defendants should be compelled to accommodate plaintiff's religious conviction.

This Court does not believe that the police department should be required to make an exception for the plaintiff so that he may pursue the career of his choice while maintaining inviolate his religious vow. The appearance regulations promote an interest which, in light of the facts of this case, outweigh the plaintiff's interest in maintaining his hair and beard as his religious beliefs dictate. The Court finds that the appearance provisions of General Order 1102.3 do not unconstitutionally infringe upon the plaintiff's free exercise rights. "Religious discrimination should not be equated with failure to accommodate." Dawson v. Mizell, 325 F.Supp. 511, 514 (E.D.Va.1971).

This result is necessitated by the nature and diversity of modern society. The Supreme Court, in wrestling with the conflict between an individual's religious beliefs and a state statute which indirectly burdened the free exercise of those beliefs, concluded:

"Abhorrence of religious persecution and intolerance is a basic part of our heritage. But we are a cosmopolitan nation made up of people of almost every conceivable religious preference. These denominations number almost three hundred. Year Book of American Churches for 1958, 257 et seq. Consequently, it cannot be expected, much less required, that legislators enact no law regulating conduct that may in some way result in an economic disadvantage to some religious sects and not to others because of the special practices of the various religions."

Braunfeld, supra, 366 U.S. at 606, 81 S. Ct. at 1147.

The Supreme Court further held in Braunfeld, however, that a secular statute which indirectly imposes a burden on religous observance will be valid only if the government cannot "accomplish its purpose by means which do not impose such a burden." 366 U.S. at 607, 81 S.Ct. at 1148. Here, the very purpose of the General Order is to project a neutral image of police officers which will promote quick and sure identification so that an officer's authority will not be questioned, and his orders obeyed, and to encourage people to come to his aid when he is in distress. If the Court were to require the police department to allow the plaintiff to maintain his hair and beard as his religion dictates, the interests to be promoted by the regulation would be wholly undermined. The plaintiff has not suggested any alternative method of achieving these goals, nor is an effective method readily apparent to the Court.

Of course, the Police Department could assign the plaintiff as an undercover officer, where the goals of police image would not obtain. However, even setting aside the training academy requirement and the potential need of the Police Department to assign the plaintiff to work as a uniformed officer, this Court cannot require the Metropolitan Police Department to hire an individual to fill a particular position on the police force. Even were the Court to assume it has the expertise to...