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From: leichter@yale-com.UUCP (Jerry Leichter)
Newsgroups: net.misc,net.legal
Subject: Re: Legality of refusing to accept bills greater than $20
Message-ID: <2728@yale-com.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Jan-84 16:59:19 EST
Article-I.D.: yale-com.2728
Posted: Mon Jan 16 16:59:19 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Jan-84 01:22:05 EST
References: burdvax.1396
Lines: 23

Joel Coltoff claims that stores can refuse to deal with "short Japanese"
(or something like that), for example.  Things are more complicated:  There
were TONS of arguments about this sort of issue back when the civil rights
laws were first passed back in the '60's.  "It's my store, I don't have to
sell to them nigra's, I don't have to let them in the door - that's why I
have this-here axe-handle..."  Congress passed laws saying that, once you
deal with "the public" - which you are able to do in a reasonable way only
because of the organization and structure society provides for you - society
has the right to defined what "public" you must deal with.  In particular,
society has decided that you cannot choose who you deal with, based on race,
religion, national background...  As a general rule, you CAN decide who
you are willing to deal with EXCEPT where Congress or the courts, acting to
implement a matter of public policy, disallow a certain type of distinction.
(Private clubs CAN discriminate on the basis of race, as can people who rent
to less than some number - 5? - of tenants.  A recent NY case established that
a landlord of a large building MAY refuse to renew the lease of an activist
tenant lawyer who was perceived as a "troublemaker" (by the landlord); there
is no special protection defined in such a case.)

Now, the question is:  Is it a matter of public policy not to allow distinctions
based on whether you have a bill larger than a twenty, and no picture ID?
As I stated in my previous note, you'd have to fight it out in court...
							-- Jerry