Stradley v. Andersen
Decision Date | 17 May 1973 |
Docket Number | No. 72-1698.,72-1698. |
Citation | 478 F.2d 188 |
Parties | Larry STRADLEY, Appellant, v. Richard R. ANDERSEN, as Chief of the Division of Police, Department of Public Safety, City of Omaha, Nebraska, Appellee. |
Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Bennett G. Hornstein, Omaha, Neb., for appellant.
Kent Whinnery, Omaha, Neb., for appellee.
Before LAY and STEPHENSON, Circuit Judges, and TALBOT SMITH,* Senior District Judge.
The Omaha Department of Public Safety, Division of Police, acting by and through its Police Chief, Richard R. Andersen, has promulgated a general order relating to standards of appearance and hair style for police officers. The plaintiff, Larry Stradley, an officer in good standing, brought this action under Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code, alleging that his constitutional rights were violated by enforcement of the order. He alleges that he wears his hair and clothing neatly and in a well-groomed fashion with a portion of his hair extending slightly below his ears. He asserts that this does not restrict or hamper him in any way in the performance of his duties. He brought the suit as a class action for himself and other officers similarly situated. The district court, after trial on the merits, found that the regulation was reasonable and calculated to achieve legitimate state interests. Stradley v. Andersen, 349 F.Supp. 1120 (D.Neb.1972). We affirm.1
The regulation reads:
In essence, Chief Andersen testified that the purposes of the regulation were (1) the maintenance of an efficient and disciplined police force and (2) the maintenance of public confidence.
The order is not attacked as being unreasonable. The basis of plaintiff's argument is that "policemen, like firemen, probation officers, teachers, other classes of public employees, public school students, and other persons have a federal constitutional right to choose their personal hair style and length." The argument is made that the defendant has failed to sustain its burden that such an order is necessary to enable police officers to carry out the mission of a city police department.
The plaintiff further contends that this court's opinion in Bishop v. Colaw, 450 F.2d 1069 (8th Cir. 1971), upholding the right of a school boy to wear whatever hair style he and his parents desired, is equally applicable to a police officer. We there found that the right involved, although not cognizable on a First Amendment ground, was based on the freedom to govern one's personal appearance and commanded protection under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, we acknowledged that recognition of this right was not unconditional and required us to weigh the competing interests asserted. We found that the school authorities failed to demonstrate any necessity of the regulation of hair length and style.
Appealing contrasts are urged to justify individual styling—thus plaintiff pleads that the order will allow mustaches "such as that of Adolph Hitler, but not permit those modeled after Mark Twain, Dean Acheson or other prominent and respected persons." We cite these comparisons because we think the essential weakness of the argument lies in this contrast—plaintiffs are not serving in the role of dictators, authors or statesmen, but rather, they have undertaken responsible roles in a...
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...and rules in order to lend practical assurance that he will follow command and not abuse his awesome authority. Stradley v. Anderson, 478 F.2d 188, 190 (8th Cir. 1973). The state, therefore, has a significant governmental interest, succinctly expressed by the majority, "in regulating some s......
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Kelley v. Johnson
...If under these conditions, a wig or hair piece is worn, it will conform to department standards." App. 57-58. 2. E. g., Stradley v. Andersen, 478 F.2d 188 (CA8 1973); Greenwald v. Frank, 40 A.D.2d 717, 337 N.Y.S.2d 225 (1972), aff'd without opinion, 32 N.Y.2d 862, 346 N.Y.S.2d 529, 299 N.E.......
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East Hartford Ed. Ass'n v. Board of Ed. of Town of East Hartford, 118
..."need for discipline, esprit de corps, and uniformity" in a police force. Id. at 246, 96 S.Ct. at 1446. See also Stradley v. Andersen, 478 F.2d 188, 190-91 (8th Cir. 1973); Yarbrough v. City of Jacksonville, 363 F.Supp. 1176, 1179 (M.D.Fla.1973); Note, On Privacy: Constitutional Protection ......
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Zeller v. Donegal School Dist. Bd. of Ed.
......1973) (per curiam) (Marine wigs). But see Rinehart v. Brewer, 491 F.2d 705 (8th Cir. 1974) (per curiam) (prison hair regulations upheld); Stradley v. Anderson, 478 F.2d 188, 190-91 (8th Cir. 1973) (police hair regulation upheld). . 7 See Fagan v. National Cash Register Co., 157 U.S.App.D.C. 15, ......