U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled August 21 in favor of a homeless man who claimed his constitutional rights were violated when he was refused entrance to the District of Columbia Public Library’s King Memorial Library in February 1993. Richard S. Armstrong, who was wearing a shirt, shoes, pants, several sweaters, and two winter jackets when he attempted to enter the library, was told by security to “clean up,” then turned away, the Washington Post reported August 30.
Armstrong filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 1979 rule on dress and hygiene that allowed the library to bar those with “objectionable appearance (barefooted, bare-chested, body odor, filthy clothing, etc.).” Sullivan agreed with Armstrong’s contention that the policy terminology was too vague. “Because the regulation at issue is wholly dependent on the individual staff member’s interpretation . . . its enforcement is unavoidably arbitrary,” he wrote in a 34-page opinion. Armstrong was given until October 1 to submit a recommendation on damages.
Library officials had already begun a review of behavior guidelines before the opinion was issued, said Grace Perry-Gaiter, the library’s acting general counsel. Patrons are rarely turned away, she said. “Our aim is to allow everyone access to the library.”
Posted September 3, 2001.