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Posts under ‘overbreadth’

A 1-2 punch

Tandem opinions from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals were released yesterday. 
In the first case, Entertainment Productions, Inc. and others sued Shelby County, challenging the constitutionality of the Tennessee Adult-Oriented Establishment Registration Act on First Amendment grounds. EP argued four points: First, the definitions of “adult cabaret,” “adult-oriented establishment,” and “adult entertainment” render the Act unconstitutionally overbroad; and [...]

I ain’t no senator’s son

“A Maryland law that sought to block strip clubs in Prince George’s County from selling alcohol carved out an unconstitutional exception for a club that was owned by a former state senator, a federal judge held this week,” reports The Washington Post here.
Read the decision.

Not content with this tax

The Illinois Supreme Court delivered this opinion on Thursday. What’s it about?
In 2001, plaintiff, Pooh-Bah Enterprises, Inc., brought suit, in the circuit court of Cook County, for declaratory and injunctive relief against the County. In its complaint, plaintiff alleged that it operates an establishment under the licensed name “Crazy Horse Too.” The seating capacity of [...]

Chilling speech, Un-chilling beer

Last Friday the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued this decision.
It concerns an Ohio liquor regulation (Rule 52) that bans “nudity” and “sexual activity” in alcohol-licensed establishments. As drafted, Rule 52 prohibits not only nudity in performances having literary, artistic or political value, it bans even “the exposure of any device, costume, or covering which [...]

The Mild, Mild West

From the Seventh Court of Appeals of Texas comes this case. It concerns Kenneth Smartt, who began operating a business involving nude dancers (Xoticas) outside the city limits of Laredo in 1995. In 1998, Laredo annexed the property. Four years later, Laredo amended a previously existing ordinance to require those operating sexually oriented businesses to [...]

Can you hear me now?

This opinion from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concerns an open-atrium nightclub in Miami which, apparently, likes to play music. But the club’s neighbors (or some of them) don’t like to listen. The plaintiffs argued that the City’s noise ordinance was facially unconstitutional. The court disagreed. If you’re listening, it’s “Plaintiffs 0, Miami-Dade County [...]

PA Pro-Family Group seeks to reinstate law regulating nude dancing

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision at the center of the AFA of PA’s political firestorm is available here. According to the AFA article (click blue title above), “‘The statute that was struck down last Tuesday had been in effect for over fifty years with only minor changes. Apparently the judges on this three-judge [...]