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Show Me State Showdown: Nudity or Not?

joker44
In the wind
Tomorrow, September 7th the Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an appeal of the state's adult entertainment law, popularly known as the MO Strip Club Law, although it includes other adult oriented businesses such as bookstores.

In the absence of a summary judgment by the court a decision likely won't be handed down until later this month or early in October. Many adult business owners including strip club owners continue to operate despite significant loss of revenue and migration of entertainers to other states while awaiting the court's decision. An unfavorable ruling would force many owners to consider closing or changing to a more profitable, less regulated form of entertainment.

Those of you who take pleasure in reading legal briefs :-) can follow this link to the Court's web page that presents a summary of the law and appeal filings along with Adobe pdfs of business owners appeal and state attorney general's response.

http://www.courts.mo.gov/sup/index.nsf/F…

Owners say the law violates First Amendment freedom of speech by placing undue restrictions on sexually oriented expression. They also say the legislature failed to conduct an adequate economic impact study mandated by MO law and requested by one legislator. They also challenge the validity of the “secondary effects” testimony used by the legislature to justify the new restrictions with data of their own.

One of the plaintiffs is Michael Ocello, who is described as president of a publicly traded company that operates a national chain of upscale adult cabarets. He's represented by the Cleveland, Ohio law firm of BERKMAN, GORDON, MURRAY & DEVAN. Any tuslers recognize this guy?

Obviously, the legal impact of the court's decision is limited to Missouri. But the law is based entirely on model legislation drafted by Scott Bergthold, a lawyer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His practice, according to his web site, is the "nation's only law firm focused exclusively on drafting and defense of municipal adult business regulations."

Bergthold's model law is the basis of the proposed Kansas SC law and served as a basis for proposed legislation in other jurisdictions across the US, including Ohio and Oregon [not enacted]. The Kansas governor and a majority of both legislative houses favored passage of the law. It only failed when KS house members adamantly refused to accept modifications proposed by several state senators.

A court decision substantially upholding the constitutionality of Missouri's law could favorably influence passage in Kansas. And other states, counties, and cities around the US considering increased regulation of adult entertainment would be encouraged to base their regulations on Bergthold's model since they could expect little in the way of successful court challenges.

11 comments

Latest

deogol
•
13 years ago
Truth is, cities, counties, and states have less and less money to enforce this kind of thing. All they are going to do is create a shit load of "pigs."
Dudester
•
13 years ago
The Mo. law is extremely similar to the Houston ordinance, except the ban on booze and a distance requirement. The Houston law was heavily appealed and all but one of the provisions were held by appeals courts. In practical application, virtually every Houston club could be closed tonight because dancers routinely violate the distance requirement, some clubs are too close to each other, and the dancers show too much skin on stage. The only reason no one is raiding the Houston clubs is because convention business is up 1,000% since they backed off on enforcement.


With all that said, I see the Mizzou Supremes backing up the state. Kansas, no doubt, will follow the example. The only glimmer of hope I see is if the state suddenly sees a drastic drop in business (like Houston did in late 90's convention business) and they see the light ($$$$).
Luckymann
•
13 years ago
As always, follow the money.
steve229
•
13 years ago
"the Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments"

I think the dancers could make some pretty convincing oral arguments if allowed to, lol.
mmdv26
•
13 years ago
Certainly a situation where no harm was being done to the community with the operation of adult establishments as they were. Need for a change? Not really. Political posturing. Shooting fish in a barrel.

A big church in this area went under this past week. The minister enjoyed a $400k annual salary, and his family members received another 1/2 million on top of that. It seems like there was harm done to the community in that situation...or maybe the congregation was just a bunch of PL's.
deogol
•
13 years ago
Yea, these congregations in super churches are a bunch of PLs. Good point.
Dudester
•
13 years ago
We shouldn't go on picking on churches as congregation members mean well. I could go on and on about the Catholic church, which until the molesting scandal started, was swimming in money. Now they are knee deep in shit. The congregations meant well, but it was the priests who felt that tribute meant more than just the money collected in the baskets.

Neophytes to the Jewish religion are frequently shocked to find out that a weekly offering doesn't take place in temple. Instead, worshippers are told that if they want to attend the Yom Kippur service (the holiest of the year), they have to pony up in a big way. But then again, Jewish rabbis don't have a taste for little boys.

And finally, America's biggest megachurch, Lakewood, in Houston, their pastor doesn't draw a salary. He's independently wealthy from books that he has written. From time to time, I've sung in their choir. Unlike a church with a little money in their pocket, their massive choir (300 members, like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) doesn't have sheet music. If you can't memorize the tunes in rehearsal, you are out of luck. Instead, much of Lakewood's money is spent in either mission work, or in brilliant ways. Last year, they bought the former NBA arena they moved into ten years ago. They had been leasing the arena from the city, but they bought it outright for 7.5 million.
deogol
•
13 years ago
Alright, some churches do do well, like feeding and clothing the poor. However, there are many holding their heads a little to high dressed in a little to fine of clothes to really report to the world who they are. At least, as it goes for Christianity.
pacer317
•
13 years ago
The problem with these churches is they often can't keep their noses out of other people's business or bedrooms. Those who want to attend those churches may do so. Those who don't don't need those church members preaching to them about how they should live their personal lives. If what I'm doing isn't affecting you, stay the fuck out of my business.
sanitago
•
13 years ago
I'm a firm believer in the idea that your right to do what you want ends when you try to tell me what the hell to do. no one has a right to tell a strip club it's an "offense to the community" and demand it close. yet that's what the usual 'reason" given is. it's like they buy into the BS idea that going to an adult book store or a strip club is going to make you do all sorts of illegal/immoral shit to people outside the place.
as someone further up said, it's just that some folks can't keep their noses out of other people's business....
mmdv26
•
13 years ago
Not about the church.

Which damages the community more? Naked dancer or fiscally irresponsible church leaders.
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