Gregory v. Dillard's, Inc.

The principal question presented on this appeal is whether alleged discriminatory surveillance by a retail merchant, in which members of a particular racial group are watched more closely than others while shopping, constitutes a violation of the rights guaranteed by 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The issue is not whether such conduct by a merchant is condemnable or unlawful under some other civil rights statute, but whether the district court properly applied the specific provisions of § 1981 to the record in this case. The majority opinion, in my view, deviates from the prevailing view of the federal…