Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis PDF

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Skyler Riddle Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis (1972) 6-3

Justice Rehnquist

Facts: Two men requested service at the Moose Lodge due to one of the men was African American, K. Leroy Irvis, whom was also a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature. Moose Lodge 107 was limited to the Rules of the Supreme Lodge which limits membership to Caucasians and only certain Caucasian guests were allowed on the premises. Irvis sued on the grounds that he was denied his rights under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. His suit was based on the fact that Pennsylvania granted the Moose Lodge their liquor license, and therefore the state was approving the organization’s racially discriminatory policies. The Moose Lodge appealed. Issue: Whether particular discriminatory conduct amounts to state action rather than private? Held: No. Reasoning: The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board does not sufficiently implicate the State in the discriminatory guest policies of Moose Lodge to make this issue require state action in regards to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court has never held that a private entity that receives any benefit or service from the State is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause, and the Moose Lodge is a private social club in a private building on private land. Dissent: Whenever the Moose Lodge obtained the liquor license it intertwines the State with the Lodge’s bar operation. Since the Opinion of the Court states that this involvement does not constitute state action, it makes the Lodge’s refusal to serve a guest liquor solely due to his race, and therefore violates the Fourteenth Amendment....