Samuel Alito

“ C The Department has not offered any interest in defense of its policy that is able to withstand any form of heightened scrutiny. The Department contends that it wants to convey the image of a " 'monolithic, highly disciplined force' " and that "uniformity [of appearance] not only benefits the men and women that risk their lives on a daily basis, but offers the public a sense of security in having readily identifiable and trusted public servants." ”

“ In Smith, the Court upheld an Oregon law [p366] that prohibited the "knowing or intentional possession of a 'controlled substance' unless the substance has been prescribed by a medical practitioner." Smith, 494 U.S. at 874. The Department argues that, since the prescription exception did not prompt the Smith Court to apply heightened scrutiny to the Oregon law, we should not apply heightened scrutiny in the instant case based on the Department's allowance of medical exemptions. ”

“ The refusal by a Sunni Muslim male who can grow a beard, to wear one is a major sin. I teach based upon the way I was taught and it is understood in my faith that the non-wearing of a beard by the male who can, for any reason is as [serious] a sin as eating pork. ”

“ Second, they argue that the Smith analysis does not apply to government rules that, like the "no-beard" policy, already make secular exemptions for certain individuals. Finally, they maintain that the Smith rule does not bar their exemption claim because they are relying on both the Free Exercise Clause and the Free Speech Clause. The District Court accepted the plaintiffs' first argument, applied the Court's pre-Smith jurisprudence, and concluded that the Free Exercise Clause prohibits the Department from enforcing its "no-beard" policy against Aziz and Mustafa. ”

“ But while safety is undoubtedly an interest of the greatest importance, the Department's partial no-beard policy is not tailored to serve that interest. Uniformed officers, whether bearded or clean-shaven, should be readily identifiable. Officers who wear plain clothes are not supposed to stand out to the same degree as uniformed officers, and in any event the Department permits such officers to wear beards for medical reasons. ”

“ Officers Faruq Abdul-Aziz and Shakoor Mustafa are both devout Sunni Muslims who assert that they believe that they are under a religious obligation to grow their beards. See App. at 9-10; Supp. App. 3-4. According to the affidavit of an imam, "it is an obligation for men who can grow a beard, to do so" and not to shave. ”

“ As the plurality pointed out in Roy, our decisions in the unemployment cases stand for the proposition that where the State has in place a system of individual exemptions, it may not refuse to extend that system to cases of religious hardship without compelling reason. ”

“ A Sunni Muslim male will not be saved from this major sin because of an instruction of another, [p361] even an employer to shave his beard and the penalties will be meted out by Allah.
Supp. App. at 4. The defendants have not disputed the sincerity of the plaintiffs' beliefs. [1]
When Aziz and Mustafa were questioned about their non-compliance with Order 71-15, they informed Department officials that they were growing their beards for religious reasons. See Supp. App. ”

“ Smith, 494 U.S. at 884 (quotations, citations, and alterations omitted) .
The Court reiterated this understanding of its religious exemption jurisprudence, and applied it outside the unemployment compensation context, in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 537-38, 124 L. Ed. 2d 472, 113 S.C.t. 2217 (1993) . In Lukumi, the Court reviewed several municipal ordinances regulating the slaughter of animals, one of which prescribed punishments for "whoever . . . unnecessarily . . . kills any animal." Id. ”