PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin
Encyclopedia
PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661
(2001), was a United States Supreme Court
case in which disabled golfer Casey Martin
asserted that the PGA Tour
could not lawfully deny him the option to ride in a golf cart between shots. Prior to this case, the PGA Tour required all golfers to walk between shots, and argued that this policy constituted an important aspect of the game of golf. The Supreme Court found for Martin in a 7-2 decision.
writing a dissent. In his dissent, Scalia drew upon Kurt Vonnegut's story, Harrison Bergeron
. The Supreme Court found that the PGA Tour should be viewed as a commercial enterprise operating in the entertainment industry for the economic benefit of its members rather than as a private club. It agreed with the Magistrate Judge, Thomas Coffin, that the statutory definition of public accommodation included a "golf course," rejecting the Tour's argument that its competitions are only places of public accommodation in the areas open to spectators. The operator of a public accommodation could not, in Judge Coffin's view, create private enclaves within the facility "… and thus relegate the ADA to hop-scotch areas." The finding was originally upheld by the United States Court for the Ninth Circuit.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(2001), was a United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case in which disabled golfer Casey Martin
Casey Martin
Casey Martin is a former American professional golfer and the current college golf coach of the University of Oregon.Martin was born in Eugene, Oregon and still resides there. He was educated at Stanford University, where he was initiated into the Sigma Chi fraternity and was briefly a teammate of...
asserted that the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
could not lawfully deny him the option to ride in a golf cart between shots. Prior to this case, the PGA Tour required all golfers to walk between shots, and argued that this policy constituted an important aspect of the game of golf. The Supreme Court found for Martin in a 7-2 decision.
Decision
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Martin in a 7-2 decision, with Justice Antonin ScaliaAntonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
writing a dissent. In his dissent, Scalia drew upon Kurt Vonnegut's story, Harrison Bergeron
Harrison Bergeron
"Harrison Bergeron" is a satirical, dystopian science fiction short story written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and first published in October 1961. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the story was re-published in the author's collection Welcome to the Monkey House in...
. The Supreme Court found that the PGA Tour should be viewed as a commercial enterprise operating in the entertainment industry for the economic benefit of its members rather than as a private club. It agreed with the Magistrate Judge, Thomas Coffin, that the statutory definition of public accommodation included a "golf course," rejecting the Tour's argument that its competitions are only places of public accommodation in the areas open to spectators. The operator of a public accommodation could not, in Judge Coffin's view, create private enclaves within the facility "… and thus relegate the ADA to hop-scotch areas." The finding was originally upheld by the United States Court for the Ninth Circuit.
External links
- PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin Opinion www.law.cornell.edu