ACLU Files Brief In Tulsa Police Captain's Religious Rights Case

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a brief with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals arguing a Tulsa Police captain's religious rights were not violated in 2010.

The ACLU says Captain Paul Fields' rights were not violated when he was disciplined for refusing to attend or order his officers to attend a law enforcement appreciation day event at a Tulsa mosque.

Read ACLU's brief.

Captain Paul Fields was disciplined by the department in 2011. He filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Tulsa in 2012.

Fields said he refused the order because it was against his religious beliefs, which he argued are protected by the U.S. Constitution. The city of Tulsa countered saying Fields had been given a legal order and he failed to follow it.

Tulsa federal judge Gregory Frizzell dismissed Field's suit in December 2012.

12/13/2013 Related Story: Judge Dismisses Capt. Paul Fields' Case Against City Of Tulsa

Lawyers from the American Freedom Law Center representing Fields appealed, filing a brief in March 2013 asking that Frizzell's decision be reversed.

Read American Freedom Law Center brief.

The ACLU asks the appeals court to affirm the Tulsa judge's ruling. 

The American Freedom Law Center asks for oral arguments to be presented in the case.