''Fraternal Order of Police, Newark Lodge No. 12 v. City of Newark'', 170 F.3d 359 (3d Cir. 1999), was a case challenging an internal order of the

City of Newark Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Police Department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

requiring its officers to be clean-shaven. The

Third Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * East ...

held that the order merited

strict scrutiny In U.S. constitutional law, when a law infringes upon a fundamental constitutional right, the court may apply the strict scrutiny standard. Strict scrutiny holds the challenged law as presumptively invalid unless the government can demonstrate th ...

and did not survive exacting review. Therefore, the order violated the Free Exercise Clause of the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Background

The order contained two exceptions, one for undercover police officers and one for medical conditions, such as pseudofolliculitis barbae. The plaintiffs, Officers Faruq Abdul-Aziz and Shakoor Mustafa, were

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

Newark Police Officers represented by the

Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the ...

. They argued that the order violated their Free Exercise rights under the

by requiring them to shave their beards in violation of their religious beliefs. The

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...

enjoined the police department from enforcing the order against the plaintiffs.

Third Circuit Holding

In an opinion written by then Judge

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...

, the

affirmed the District Court's ruling, holding that the internal order merited

and that the denial of an exemption to the plaintiffs violated the Free Exercise Clause. The court reasoned that the exemption for undercover officers was not problematic, as it did not undermine the purpose behind the order, which was uniformity of appearance among officers. The medical exemption, however, did frustrate uniformity. This suggested that in the department's view a secular reason (such as a medical condition) for wearing a beard was important enough to forego uniformity, but a religious reason was not. Because the department had preferred the secular to the religious,

heightened scrutiny Intermediate scrutiny, in U.S. constitutional law, is the second level of deciding issues using judicial review. The other levels are typically referred to as rational basis review (least rigorous) and strict scrutiny (most rigorous). In order t ...

was necessary, and none of the interests argued by the Police Department could withstand

Legal Significance

In '' Employment Division v. Smith'', the Supreme Court held that neutral laws of general applicability did not violate the Free Exercise Clause even if those laws burdened religious exercise. The Court in ''Smith'' did not address whether laws containing exemptions are appropriately considered neutral and generally applicable. ''Police v. City of Newark'' holds that laws with even a single exemption are not neutral and generally applicable. This decision was considered during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for

Justice Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...

References

External links

* * * — The Becket Fund's history of the case. United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit cases United States free exercise of religion case law 1999 in United States case law History of Newark, New Jersey 1999 in New Jersey Facial hair Law enforcement uniforms 20th century in Newark, New Jersey {{US-case-law-stub