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Dress Codes and State Action

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

The Ninth Circuit en banc today decided Villegas v. Gilroy Garlic Festival, No. 05-15725: We must decide whether guests at the Gilroy Garlic Festival can hold the City of Gilroy in California and the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association liable in a civil rights action when they are escorted from the event by a City police officer for violating the Festival?s dress code. The dress code was a prohibition of ?gang colors or other demonstrative insignia, including motorcycle club insignia,? deemed to be violated by the Top Hatters' ?image of a skull with wings and a top hat.? The answer to the question posed above is no, because (1) the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association is a private entity, not a state actor, and they can have a dress code if they like, and (2) the city did not violate the Constitution by having one of its police officers escort people off the grounds, thereby enforcing a private entity's right to have its dress code...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on September 03, 2008 (boomark / email).