In Daniels v. City of Arlington, a police officer challenged his department’s policy prohibiting officers from wearing non-approved pins or other insignia on their uniforms. Daniels wore a cross pin on his uniform and was terminated when he refused to remove it. He sued the department contending that the policy violated his right to freely exercise his religion. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Employment Div., Dep't of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, found the policy constitutional on the grounds that the regulation was a neutral one of general applicability and only incidentally affected Daniels’ ability to exercise his religion. According to the court, the no-pins policy served the legitimate government purpose of maintaining a consistent standard for law enforcement dress. Further, the no-pin policy did nothing to prevent Daniels from exercising his religion in other ways.
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