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National Litigation Hotline

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
February 28, 2006

Second Circuit Upholds Tattoo Order

The Second Circuit has rejected constitutional challenges under 42 U.S.C. ' 1983 to Hartford (CT) Police Department General Order 6-15, allowing the police chief to direct personnel to cover offensive and unprofessional tattoos, and the chief's April 14, 2003 memorandum, giving him the authority to order that spider-web tattoos, known as a symbol of racist violence, also be covered while personnel are on duty. Inturri v. City of Hartford, 2006 WL 231671 (Jan. 31).

Reviewing and affirming the district court's order, the Second Circuit began by finding plaintiff police officers' overbreadth challenge without merit. In so holding, the court recognized that “General Order 6-15 affects only tattoos displayed by on-duty police officers, and the First Amendment rights of public employees are significantly more limited than those of the general public.” Acknowledging that a police department has a reasonable interest in maintaining a professional public image and that those tattoos covered by the General Order were not likely to be protected by the First Amendment, the Second Circuit found no “'realistic danger that the statute itself will significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections of parties not before the Court.'”

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