Opinion ID: 479002
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ban on Barroom Nude Dancing

Text: 12 The Counties contend that they can prohibit common barroom nude dancing and other non-expressive nudity because it is afforded no protection under the First Amendment. The Counties raise three alternative arguments to support this contention. 13 First, they assert that barroom nude dancing is not First Amendment activity because it is non-expressive and lacks any communicative element. This argument is controverted by Schad v. Borough of Mount Ephraim, 452 U.S. 61, 101 S.Ct. 2176, 68 L.Ed.2d 671 (1981), where the Court acknowledged that nude dancing is not without its First Amendment protections from official regulation. Id. at 66, 101 S.Ct. at 2181 (emphasis supplied); accord Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc., 422 U.S. 922, 932, 95 S.Ct. 2561, 2568, 45 L.Ed.2d 648 (1975); Grand Faloon Tavern, Inc. v. Wicker, 670 F.2d 943, 946 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 859, 103 S.Ct. 132, 74 L.Ed.2d 113 (1982); Chase v. Davelaar, 645 F.2d 735, 737 (9th Cir.1981). 14 Second, the Counties argue that even if the conduct is expressive, it is obscene and therefore unprotected. But, nudity alone is not sufficient to make material legally obscene. Jenkins v. Georgia, 418 U.S. 153, 161, 94 S.Ct. 2750, 2755, 41 L.Ed.2d 642 (1974); Chase v. Davelaar, 645 F.2d at 737. 15 In Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 93 S.Ct. 2607, 37 L.Ed.2d 419 (1973), the Court adopted a three part test for identifying obscene speech not protected by the First Amendment. The Miller test asks whether the work taken as a whole (1) appeals to the prurient interest, (2) depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and (3) lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Id. at 24, 93 S.Ct. at 2614. 16 The ordinances challenged here omit the Miller requirement that the material be patently offensive. 1 Thus, the prohibition extends beyond unprotected obscenity, into the area of protected First Amendment activity. 17 Finally, the Counties argue that barroom nude dancing is totally unprotected because it is commercial speech. This argument was rejected in Chase v. Davelaar, where the court reasoned that topless dancing is not related solely to the economic interests of the ... audience, nor does it propose a commercial transaction. Id. at 738. Moreover, even purely commercial speech is not without First Amendment protections. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Comm'n, 447 U.S. 557, 561-63, 100 S.Ct. 2343, 2348-50, 65 L.Ed.2d 341 (1980).
18 Prohibition of a category of protected expression, including that which is sexually explicit, can be upheld only where it furthers a substantial governmental interest unrelated to suppression of free expression; and where the governmental interest could not be served by a means less intrusive on First Amendment activity. Schad, 452 U.S. at 67, 70, 101 S.Ct. at 2181, 2183; Young v. American Mini Theatres, 427 U.S. 50, 71, 96 S.Ct. 2440, 2453, 49 L.Ed.2d 310 (1976) (a municipality's interest in attempting to preserve the quality of urban life is one that must be accorded the highest respect.) (plurality opinion); United States v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367, 377, 88 S.Ct. 1673, 1679, 20 L.Ed.2d 672 (1968); Tovar v. Billmeyer, 721 F.2d 1260, 1264 (9th Cir.1983); Ebel v. City of Corona, 698 F.2d 390, 392 (9th Cir.1983).
19 Pierce County asserts that its ban on nude dancing will reduce the burden on law enforcement resources. PCC-Preamble. The County contends that nude dancing causes or encourages unlawful activity. 20 The district court found that the County's asserted justification was inadequate because there was no relationship between crime and topless dancing and there was no evidence of prostitution or organized crime at topless establishments. The district court also found that the County's interest in effective law enforcement was adequately served by the criminal laws. 21 Where a regulation places a substantial restriction on free expression, as does this ban on nude dancing, it is subject to strict scrutiny. See Schad, 452 U.S. at 71, 101 S.Ct. at 2184; Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663, 679, 86 S.Ct. 1079, 1088, 16 L.Ed.2d 169 (1966). This may require the trial court to make factual findings on the validity of the ... assertions of harm and then closely scrutinize the ... ordinance's relationship to prevention of the alleged harms. Ebel v. City of Corona, 698 F.2d at 393; Tovar v. Billmeyer, 721 F.2d at 1266 (citing Young, 427 U.S. at 71, 96 S.Ct. at 2453). In Kuzinich v. County of Santa Clara, 689 F.2d 1345 (9th Cir.1982), the court noted that the government must show that the business has an impact different than other businesses to justify the restriction was intended to accomplish its stated purposes. Id. at 1348. 22 The Pierce County Sheriff presented testimony and data to the County Council that were designed to show that the soda pop topless dancing clubs caused and encouraged illicit activities such as prostitution, narcotics, and violence, and, therefore, such clubs had an added need for law enforcement services. The sheriff provided statistics on the number of police calls to the topless clubs. 2 23 The data provided are not limited to calls to particular clubs, but include the immediate vicinity. The record indicates that the areas where these clubs are located may be conducive to criminal activity by the combination of liquor taverns, inexpensive motels, and topless clubs. 3 No meaningful comparative statistics are provided on hotels where prostitution occurs, or the bars where alcohol is served. The data on police calls to two taverns is of little assistance given that there are fifty to seventy-five in the County. In sum, the County's proof does not show that topless dancing is anymore a cause of lawlessness than any of the other businesses. 24 Even if we found that the County had shown that topless dancing caused illegal activity and had thereby established a substantial interest in reducing the burden on law enforcement, the County has not shown that its interest could not be achieved by a means less intrusive on protected First Amendment activity. 25 An alternative means of reducing any additional burden on law enforcement caused by topless clubs seems available. The County tentatively approved another ordinance that set a yearly license fee of $500 for dancing establishments. (PCR-30-18). There was discussion of scaling the fee to approximate law enforcement costs. The ordinance also requires public dancing places where food or drink is served to be closed from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. (PCR-30-12-30). 26 Zoning, operating hour limits, licensing fees, and distance requirements may well be sufficient to curb any additional burden placed on law enforcement by these establishments. 27 In summary, Pierce County has not shown that the topless clubs present more of a law enforcement problem than other establishments, or that the prohibition on nude dancing is necessary, or will abate the problem. Furthermore, the County has not carried its burden of showing that lesser restrictive alternatives would be inadequate. We, therefore, agree with the district court's finding that the ordinance violates the First Amendment.
28 The Snohomish County ordinance was enacted for the purpose of discouraging prostitution and other illegal activity, and to protect business and residential communities. SCC-Preamble. 29 Snohomish County has not shown a substantial governmental interest to justify this ban on nude performances. Other than reports of several narcotics transactions at one club, the evidence before the County Council consisted of letters and petitions from church groups and ministers asserting that barroom nude dancing is corrupt and immoral; a sheriff's statement that topless dancing is perceived as vice-ridden, it corrupts public morals and is a drain on police resources; and testimony of several individuals that topless dancing is immoral, lewd, and degrading to womanhood. There are numerous biblical references. No empirical evidence was presented to the Council. (SCR-36). 30 Snohomish County's overriding purpose was to exclude barroom topless dancing because some found it morally offensive. As such, the County's interest in this ban on nude performances is directly related to the suppression of free expression. This is not a legitimate governmental interest, thus the restriction violates the First Amendment. See Ebel v. City of Corona, 698 F.2d at 393 (citing Kuzinich v. County of Santa Clara, 689 F.2d 1345). 31 Snohomish County has available lesser restrictive means of serving its interest in improved law enforcement, see discussion supra at 1108-1109. The County has not shown that these alternatives would not adequately protect their interests. Hence, the ban on barroom nude performances must be invalidated.
32 The district court also found that the ban on nude dancing was invalid because the ordinances were substantially overbroad. 33 Initially, the Counties contest plaintiffs' standing to raise the overbreadth challenge, arguing that plaintiffs cannot assert the interests of absent third parties. This argument fails because plaintiffs do not need vicarious standing. As owners and operators of establishments offering nude entertainment they are personally threatened with prosecution should the ordinance be upheld. See Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498-99, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2204-05, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). Here, the parties challenging the statute are those who desire to engage in protected speech that the overbroad statute purports to punish    . Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., 472 U.S. 491, 105 S.Ct. 2794, 2802, 86 L.Ed.2d 394 (1985). 34 The Supreme Court has invalidated statutes that are facially overbroad in that they sweep in a broad range of First Amendment protected expression. Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. City of Dallas, 390 U.S. 676, 88 S.Ct. 1298, 20 L.Ed.2d 225 (1968); Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51, 85 S.Ct. 734, 13 L.Ed.2d 649 (1965). Where that expression is conduct and not speech, the overbreadth of a statute must not only be real, but substantial as well, judged in relation to the statute's plainly legitimate sweep. Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 615, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 2917, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973) (emphasis added); Chase v. Davelaar, 645 F.2d at 738. 35 The legitimate application of the Pierce and Snohomish ordinances is the prohibition on obscene nudity. The overbreadth challenge arises because the ordinances also prohibit non-obscene nude performances. Ultimately, only one prong of the three part Miller obscenity test is preserved by these ordinances. 36 First, the ordinances do not require that the nudity be patently offensive. Second, although the affirmative defense has appeal to prurient interest requirement, it cannot be used because the affirmative defense must fail. It impermissibly shifts to the defendant the burden of proving the activity did not appeal to prurient interests, and, therefore, is protected expression. The Supreme Court held in Patterson v. New York, 432 U.S. 197, 97 S.Ct. 2319, 53 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977), that the Due Process Clause requires the prosecution to prove all the elements included in the definition of the offense. Id. at 210, 97 S.Ct. at 2327. Given that the County can only prohibit conduct that is obscene, it has the burden of proving the activity falls within that category. 37 Also, the Supreme Court has held that the burden of proving that the material is unprotected must rest on the censor. Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad, 420 U.S. 546, 560, 95 S.Ct. 1239, 1247, 43 L.Ed.2d 448 (1975) (prior restraint); Spokane Arcades, Inc. v. Brockett, 631 F.2d 135, 138 (9th Cir.1980), aff'd 454 U.S. 1022, 102 S.Ct. 557, 70 L.Ed.2d 468 (1981). 38 Here the Counties argue that the ordinances are not substantially overbroad because they allow nude dancing in most instances: expressive dance, (substantial story, theme, or ideas); drama, science and educational classes, and in athletic locker rooms. 39 Essentially, the Counties have narrowed the category of expression which is afforded First Amendment protection. Only nude dancing with a substantial expression of story, theme, or ideas, and nudity connected with drama, science, or education, or in athletic locker rooms is protected. The restriction is substantially overbroad. Barroom nude dancing is totally banned. Nude modeling for artists is unprotected, as is exposure by models in a fashion show. 40 Before a statute which has not been enforced or authoritatively interpreted can be invalidated by a facial challenge for overbreadth, the court must determine whether there is a readily apparent construction [by a state court] ... for rehabilitating the statute[ ] in a single prosecution. Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U.S. 479, 491, 85 S.Ct. 1116, 1123, 14 L.Ed.2d 22 (1965). 41 The Counties assert that the affirmative defense would provide ample safeguards for unintended defendants, but that defense is invalid. There is no readily apparent construction which would allow the ordinances to be applied in a constitutional manner, nor has any been suggested by the Counties. 42 We find that these ordinances violate the First Amendment and cannot be given effect. We need not reach the district court's further ruling that the ordinances were unconstitutionally vague.