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Burlington Commission on Human Rights, 1964-1965

Iowa Law Review, "State Civil Rights Statute: Some Proposals" Page 1096

1096     IOWA LAW REVIEW     [Vol. 49

tions statute.109 The 1884 "Civil Rights Act" as amended provides that:

   All persons within this state shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, restaurants, chophouses, eating houses, lunch counters, and all other places where refreshments are served, public conveyances, barber shops, bathhouses, theaters, and all other places of amusement.
   Any person who shall violate the provisions ... [of the preceding section] by denying to any person, except for reasons by law applicable to all persons, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges enumerated therein, or by aiding or inciting such denial, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor ....110

This statute is a rather narrow proscription. It bars discrimination on the basis of such factors as race, religion, or ethnic background in specifically enumerated establishments. An attempt is made to extend its prohibitions beyond these specified places by its coequal application to "all other places where refreshments are served," and "all other places of amusement."
   The effectiveness of this linguistic effort to extend the act's coverage beyond the specifically enumerated establishments may be limited by a tendency to construe it narrowly because of the rule of ejusdem generis, the fact that it is a penal provision, and the fact that it is in derogation of the common law.111 The Iowa Supreme Court has noted that "there was no such offense known to the common law" as that penalized under the public accommodations statute, and therefore
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Private Housing, 28 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 758 (1960); Kaplan, Discrimination in California Housing: The Need for Additional Legislation, 50 CALIF. L. REV. 635 (1962); Warshaw, California's New Fair Housing Law, 37 SO. CAL. L. REV. 47 (1964); A Selective Bibliography of Discrimination in Housing and Employment, 6 N.Y.L.F. 114-15 (1960); The Fair Housing Statutes: A Survey of Their Scope, Validity, and Effect, Trends in Housing, Sept.-Oct. 1963; KONVITZ & LESKES, op. cit. supra note 89, at 236-51.
   On public accommodations statutes of the various states, see GREENBERG, op. cit. supra note 68, at 79-114; KONVITZ & LESKES, op. cit. supra note 89, at 155-93; Klein, The California Equal Rights Statutes in Practice, 19 STAN. L. REV 253 (1958); Horrowitz, The California Equal Rights Statute, 33 SO. CAL. L. REV. 360 (1960); Van Alstyne, Civil Rights: A New Public Accommodations Law for Ohio, 22 OHIO ST. L.J. 683 (1962); Van Alstyne, A Critique of the Ohio Public Accommodations Law, 22 OHIO ST. L.J. 201 (1961); Annot., 87 A.L.R.2d 120 (1963); Public Accommodations Hearings 1316-80.
109 the District of Columbia also has such a statute. The states having a public accommodations act are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming. See Public Accommodations Hearings 1316-80.
110 IOWA CODE 735.1-.2 (1962). For a discussion of these provisions, see Goostree, The Iowa Civil Rights Statute: A Problem of Enforcement, 37 IOWA L. REV. 242 (1952); Schaffter, The Iowa "Civil Rights Act," 14 IOWA L. REV. 63 (1928).
111 See Brown v. J. H. Bell Co., 146 Iowa 89, 95-99, 123 N.W. 231, 233-34 (1909).

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1096 IOWA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 49 tions statute.109 The 1884 "Civil Rights Act" as amended provides that: All persons within this state shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, restaurants, chophouses, eating houses, lunch counters, and all other places where refreshments are served, public conveyances, barber shops, bathhouses, theaters, and all other places of amusement. Any person who shall violate the provisions ... [of the preceding section] by denying to any person, except for reasons by law applicable to all persons, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges enumerated therein, or by aiding or inciting such denial, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor ....110 This statute is a rather narrow proscription. It bars discrimination on the basis of such factors as race, religion, or ethnic background in specifically enumerated establishments. An attempt is made to extend its prohibitions beyond these specified places by its coequal application to "all other places where refreshments are served," and "all other places of amusement." The effectiveness of this linguistic effort to extend the act's coverage beyond the specifically enumerated establishments may be limited by a tendency to construe it narrowly because of the rule of ejusdem generis, the fact that it is a penal provision, and the fact that it is in derogation of the common law.111 The Iowa Supreme Court has noted that "there was no such offense known to the common law" as that penalized under the public accommodations statute, and therefore _________________________ Private Housing, 28 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 758 (1960); Kaplan, Discrimination in California Housing: The Need for Additional Legislation, 50 CALIF. L. REV. 635 (1962); Warshaw, California's New Fair Housing Law, 37 SO. CAL. L. REV. 47 (1964); A Selective Bibliography of Discrimination in Housing and Employment, 6 N.Y.L.F. 114-15 (1960); The Fair Housing Statutes: A Survey of Their Scope, Validity, and Effect, Trends in Housing, Sept.-Oct. 1963; KONVITZ & LESKES, op. cit. supra note 89, at 236-51. On public accommodations statutes of the various states, see GREENBERG, op. cit. supra note 68, at 79-114; KONVITZ & LESKES, op. cit. supra note 89, at 155-93; Klein, The California Equal Rights Statutes in Practice, 19 STAN. L. REV 253 (1958); Horrowitz, The California Equal Rights Statute, 33 SO. CAL. L. REV. 360 (1960); Van Alstyne, Civil Rights: A New Public Accommodations Law for Ohio, 22 OHIO ST. L.J. 683 (1962); Van Alstyne, A Critique of the Ohio Public Accommodations Law, 22 OHIO ST. L.J. 201 (1961); Annot., 87 A.L.R.2d 120 (1963); Public Accommodations Hearings 1316-80. 109 the District of Columbia also has such a statute. The states having a public accommodations act are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming. See Public Accommodations Hearings 1316-80. 110 IOWA CODE 735.1-.2 (1962). For a discussion of these provisions, see Goostree, The Iowa Civil Rights Statute: A Problem of Enforcement, 37 IOWA L. REV. 242 (1952); Schaffter, The Iowa "Civil Rights Act," 14 IOWA L. REV. 63 (1928). 111 See Brown v. J. H. Bell Co., 146 Iowa 89, 95-99, 123 N.W. 231, 233-34 (1909).