Bah v. City of Atlanta

• Decision Date: 22 January 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-8095,96-8095
• Citation: 103 F.3d 964
• Parties: , 97 FCDR 770, 10 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 667 Mohamed I. BAH, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF ATLANTA, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 964

103 F.3d 964

65 USLW 2493, 97 FCDR 770, 10 Fla. L.

Weekly Fed. C 667

Mohamed I. BAH, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF ATLANTA, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 96-8095.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

Jan. 22, 1997.

Lisa S. Morchower, Asst. City Attorney, M. Hakim Hilliard, Associate City Attorney, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant-Appellant.

George Brian Spears, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Before ANDERSON and CARNES, Circuit Judges, and CUDAHY ^*, Senior Circuit Judge.

PER CURIAM:

Mohamed I. Bah brought this action against the City of Atlanta, alleging that the City's ordinance establishing a dress code for drivers of vehicles for hire is unconstitutional. The City appeals from the district court's grant of a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the dress code.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1993, the City's Bureau of Vehicles for Hire created a task force to revise the Vehicles for Hire chapter of the City's Code of Ordinances. Over almost a year and a half, the task force met often to discuss problems in the vehicle for hire industry, as well as possible solutions to those problems. The task force made recommendations to the City, including a recommendation to amend the dress code for drivers of vehicles for hire.

On July 5, 1995, the Atlanta City Council adopted a version of the task force's recommendations, including the dress code. The new dress code requirement provides that:

In order to maintain a permit to drive a vehicle for hire a driver must ... [w]ear proper dress while operating a vehicle for hire. As used herein, the term "proper dress" shall mean shoes which entirely cover the foot (no sandals) and dark pants to ankle length or dark skirt or dress and solid white or light blue shirt or solid white or light blue blouse with sleeves and folded collar. Shirts or blouses shall be tucked in. No tee-shirts or sweatshirts shall be worn. If a hat is worn, it shall be a baseball-style cap with an Atlanta or taxicab theme. "Proper dress" shall also mean any uniform adopted by the company and approved by the Bureau. Clothing shall not be visibly soiled.

Atlanta Code of Ordinances ("Code"), Section 14-8005(d)(2). ¹

Bah, a taxicab driver, filed this lawsuit on October 19, 1995, after being cited for a violation of the dress code. His complaint contends that the dress code is unconstitutional, because it violates the Equal Protection Clause and his First Amendment rights of religion and free speech. Bah requested a temporary restraining order, which the district court converted into a motion for preliminary injunction.

After a hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction, the district court granted it and enjoined the City from enforcing the dress code. The court held that the dress code violated the Equal Protection Clause because it was not rationally related to a legitimate government objective. ² The district court said that the City had put forth two justifications for the dress code: (1) the need to improve public safety, and (2) the need to identify unlicensed or "gypsy" taxicab drivers. The court rejected the first reason because it found no evidence that safety was a problem in taxicabs or that the dress code would improve safety in taxicabs. The court rejected the second reason after finding that the clothing prescribed by the dress code was so common that it would not help to distinguish gypsy taxicab drivers from licensed ones.

The district court did not address another justification the City proffered for the dress code. In its response to the motion for preliminary injunction, the City explained that drivers of vehicles for hire are often a visitor's first contact with the City of Atlanta, which is why many of the drivers refer to themselves as "ambassadors" for the City. The City contended that, for obvious reasons, it is in the City's interest that its "ambassadors" present a safe and professional image to all their passengers. The dress code would, the City argued, reduce the fears of passengers and improve the City's image.

Because the district court found the dress code unconstitutional on equal protection grounds, it did not address Bah's First Amendment arguments. The City appeals from the grant of preliminary injunctive relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review a district court's decision to grant a preliminary injunction for abuse of discretion. Teper v. Miller, 82 F.3d 989, 993 (11th Cir.1996) (citing Haitian Refugee Ctr., Inc. v. Baker, 953 F.2d 1498, 1505 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1122, 112 S.Ct. 1245, 117 L.Ed.2d 477 (1992)). A district court necessarily abuses its discretion when it bases a ruling on an erroneous view of the law. E.g., Jones v. International Riding Helmets, 49 F.3d 692, 694 (11th Cir.1995). Any legal determinations made by the district court in ruling on a preliminary injunction are reviewed de novo. Teper, 82 F.3d at 993.

III. DISCUSSION

The district court granted the preliminary injunction based upon its determination that the dress code violated the Equal Protection Clause. Under an equal protection analysis, "unless the case involves a suspect class or a fundamental right, the Equal Protection Clause requires only that the classification be rationally related to a legitimate state interest." Panama City Medical Diagnostic Ltd. v. Williams, 13 F.3d 1541, 1545 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 826, 115 S.Ct. 93, 130 L.Ed.2d 44 (1994) (citing Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1, 10-11, 112 S.Ct. 2326, 2331-32, 120 L.Ed.2d 1 (1992) and City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc., 473 U.S. 432, 439-41, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 3254-55, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985)). Bah does not contend on appeal that the dress code burdens a fundamental right or targets a suspect class. Both Bah and the City agree that rational basis is the appropriate level of scrutiny.

In a rational basis analysis, the legislative enactment carries a "strong presumption of validity." F.C.C. v. Beach Communications, Inc., 508 U.S. 307, 314, 113 S.Ct. 2096, 2101-02, 124 L.Ed.2d 211 (1993) (citing Lyng v. Int'l Union, United Auto. Workers, 485 U.S. 360, 370, 108 S.Ct. 1184, 1192, 99 L.Ed.2d 380 (1988)). Review of enactments must be "a paradigm of judicial restraint." Beach Communications, 508 U.S. at 314, 113 S.Ct. at 2101. "[T]hose attacking the rationality of the legislative classification have the burden to negative every conceivable basis which might support it." Id. at 315, 113 S.Ct. at 2101 (citation omitted); Panama City, 13 F.3d at 1546. The legislature need not actually articulate its reasons for enacting a statute. Heller v. Doe by Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 320, 113 S.Ct. 2637, 2642, 125 L.Ed.2d 257 (1993) (citation omitted). In fact, "it is entirely irrelevant for constitutional purposes whether the conceived reason for the challenged distinction actually motivated the legislature." Beach Communications, 508 U.S. at 315, 113 S.Ct. at 2102. "In other...