A federal District Judge on Friday upheld the constitutional claim of Fishel Litzman, a Hasidic recruit for the New York Police Department who was dismissed from the Police Academy, where he was in the top 1.3% of his class, because he would not, on grounds of religious observance, trim his beard. Judge Harold Baer concluded that Mr. Litzman’s First Amendment rights had been denied because “de facto exemptions . . . abound” to the NYPD’s unpublished rule that permits only facial hair that does not exceed one millimeter in length, and because the NYPD applies its facial-hair limitation “in a discriminatory fashion.”

Nathan Lewin of Lewin & Lewin, LLP, who is Mr. Litzman’s attorney, said, “Judge Baer’s opinion properly emphasizes the discrepancy between the NYPD’s announced limitation on facial hair and the Department’s failure to enforce that rule against officers other than Fishel Litzman. We are gratified that Mr. Litzman’s personal claim has been sustained on this basis. But we hope that this is the beginning of the end of the New York Police Department’s refusal to grant full religious accommodations to applicants who may not, for religious reasons, trim their beards.”

Mr. Litzman said, “This is a great day for religious freedom in America. This decision will enable me to carry out my life-long dream of serving the people of the City of New York as a uniformed police officer. I am very grateful for the support I received from those inside and outside the New York City Police Department during this long ordeal.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)