Court Sides With Muslim Woman Suing Over NY Border Detainment

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A federal appeals court has sided with an Ohio Muslim leader who is trying to find out why she was detained at a border crossing five years ago.

Julia Shearson is director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations office in Cleveland. She was stopped by U.S. border agents in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2006 as she returned with her daughter from a weekend in Canada.

Shearson later sued for records about her case from the departments of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection.

She also wanted to pursue claims against the government for alleged violations of privacy laws, a move rejected by a federal judge.

The federal appeals court in Cincinnati overturned that decision Thursday and sent the case back to the lower court.

The Justice Department declined to comment.