(2009)

Dear Colonel Paul A. Drula

You have asked for our opinion regarding the following questions:

1. If an individual wearing a veil or mask or other face covering wishes to enter a courthouse, may a deputy sheriff assigned to court security require that individual to remove the covering momentarily at the security checkpoint at the entrance to the courthouse? Is the answer to this question different if the individual asserts a religious reason for remaining veiled or masked?

2. What operational procedures or measures would be appropriate to enforce a requirement that individuals entering the…