20-03-2025
Woman to receive $71K after Knox County publishes mugshot of her without hijab
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Knox County will pay Layla Soliz a settlement of $71,500 after publishing a booking photo of her without her hijab, according to her lead counsel, attorney Daniel Horowitz.
Layla Soliz, a Muslim woman and Tennessee citizen, wears a hijab every day due to her religious beliefs, according to the lawsuit. On May 15, 2024, she was arrested for a minor misdemeanor charge, and employees at Knox County Sheriff's Office demanded that she remove her hijab for a booking photo despite her objections, the complaint alleges.
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KCSO then published the photo to their website, which was seen by hundreds of people, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says this image was 'humiliating and degrading' and compares it to a woman being asked to take her shirt off in public.
The lawsuit quotes KCSO's own policy according to which, an officer of the same gender as the person arrested will take a photo with and without the head covering but will only publish the photo with the head covering, not the one without.
An officer told Soliz that KCSO would not publish the photo or let male officers see it, but they did so anyway, according to the lawsuit.
Soliz is still demanding that the county delete the uncovered photo of her and reform their booking policy.
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'This is a meaningful step toward accountability for violating Mrs. Soliz's religious rights under state and federal law,' said Horowitz. 'Because Knox County has refused to destroy Mrs. Soliz's uncovered booking photograph or update its booking policy to conform with what Mrs. Soliz asserts that state and federal law require, however, those claims will continue.'
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