Rise for the judge? It's religious freedom, says Muslim defendant; Chaos could arise, says prosecuto

[rug]

By David Hanners
[e-mail]
Posted: 08/30/2012 12:01:00 AM CDT
August 31, 2012 2:23 AM GMTUpdated: 08/30/2012 09:23:18 PM CDT

Allowing a Muslim woman to remain seated when a federal judge enters a courtroom is a path to chaos and violence, a federal prosecutor warns.

In a legal brief filed this week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Paulsen told Minnesota's chief federal judge that the government has a keen interest in whether Amina Farah Ali sits or stands when court is called into session -- and that the need for order in the court trumps her religious beliefs.

The Rochester woman, convicted last year of raising money for the terror group al-Shabaab in her native Somalia, evokes "strong emotions" in the state's Somali community, Paulsen wrote to U.S. District Judge Michael Davis.

"The potential for those strong emotions to boil over into disorder or even violence in the courtroom cannot be discounted," the prosecutor warned. "Granting Ali an exemption from one of the most basic court rules of decorum would have undermined the government's compelling interest in courtroom order and security."

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_21436605/rise-judge-its-religious-freedom-says-somali-defendant

[Downwinder]

1. That's Contempt.

Glad you got the message.

[cbayer]

2. I think she should stand or be found in contempt.

Her reasons for not standing sound more political than religious to me and they are not widely held by those that share her faith, just what appear to be hostile extremists.