Last month, the federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated a Louisiana statute prohibiting nude erotic dancing by 18 to 21-year-old women, finding that the law was too vague and thus violated the First Amendment. The law was passed by the Louisiana
This post was authored by Otten Johnson summer associate Lindsay Lyda. Lindsay is a rising third-year law student at the University of Colorado Law School.
A few weeks ago, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s summary judgment
Last month, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s denial of an adult business’s motion for preliminary injunction against Indianapolis. The appeals court found that the business, Hustler Hollywood (HH), was unlikely to prevail on the merits of its
In an unpublished decision issued in late January, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Columbia, South Carolina regulation limiting the locations of adult businesses was a valid, content neutral regulation, applying what is commonly known as the “secondary effects” doctrine. That doctrine allows local governments to specially regulate adult businesses in a content neutral manner on the grounds that such regulations counter the secondary effects—such as crime, prostitution, and neighborhood blight—of such businesses.
In December 2011, an adult business—“Taboo”—opened the only adult business establishment in Columbia, a book and novelty store. That same month, Columbia enacted restrictions on adult businesses, including a 700-foot dispersal requirement from “sensitive” uses such as religious institutions, schools, parks, and residential uses, as well as a 1,000-foot dispersal requirement from other adult uses. The regulations allowed a two-year amortization period in which an adult business in one of the restricted areas could operate before being shut down. Taboo was located in one of the restricted areas, and continued to operate for the amortization period. At the end of the amortization period, Taboo sued the city under the First Amendment.
Continue Reading Secondary Effects Doctrine Lives On in Fourth Circuit Decision
Earlier this month, the 11th Circuit considered the constitutionality of an ordinance enacted in Sandy Springs, Georgia, which criminalizes the distribution of sexual devices. Although not a First Amendment case, we’re including a post on the case because the decision relates to a First Amendment-protected land use—adult businesses—and introduces an alternative constitutional theory for