Posts under ‘vagueness’

Paul Braley (“Braley”) has a leasehold interest in property in Forest Park, Georgia, where he operates a retail salvage store. Since 1984, he has displayed merchandise for sale to the public in front of the store in an area where there is a sidewalk and places to park.
In March 2007, the City of Forest Park [...]

A pair of decisions to start the week.
“The town of Clarksville’s legal case against Theatair X was dismissed Monday as a judge ruled the town’s ordinance is not valid and therefore cannot be enforced,” reports the NewsAndTribune.com (which, oddly enough, is a “.net” Web site)  here. The Clarksville Town Court held that the ordinance regulating sexually oriented businesses [...]

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 [...]

Gayle, Kristine and Angela sued the City of Chicago, challenging the constitutionality of its ordinance that prohibits the use of wireless telephones without a “hands-free” device while driving a motor vehicle. How do you think that suit fared? Good job. Judge Wood (my prediction for the next SCOTUS Junior Justice) began the opinion like this: “The [...]

This one from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The plaintiff, Doctor John’s, is an adult novelty store suing the City of Roy, Utah. This sums it up: “Although we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in striking the articles, even if the articles were considered as evidence under the Alameda Books [...]

It’s a video poker case.
Over at SCOTUSblog, they’re betting that that it is taken up by the Supreme Court. I won’t (meaning, I can’t) handicap the odds. The case concerns Jimmy Martin and his company, Lucky Strike, which have sought to enjoin enforcement of two South Carolina statutes criminalizing certain “device[s] pertaining to games of [...]

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 [...]

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued this opinion yesterday. The case involves a retail novelty store, Dr. John’s, that sells a “range” of adult products. When the City of Roy (Utah) insisted that Dr. John’s submit to its sexually oriented business (SOB) licensing scheme, Dr. John’s launched a comprehensive challenge to the city’s SOB [...]

I stumbled across How Appealing’s post to this article in The Dallas Morning News. At issue is whether the store is fairly characterized as an ‘adult’ store, given its nondescript inventory. The City says yes; the store says no. Our law firm is litigating similar issues with increasing frequency. Local governments enjoy wide latitude (courtesy [...]