Kingston, Washington residents Jeff and Susan Owen had been charged in 2005 with a misdemeanor for violating a Kitsap County adult entertainment zoning regulation by running a home-based adult Internet business, according to the Free Speech Xpress. The couple’s home was reported to have been within 1,000 feet of Spectrum Community School.
Previous to the charges, Jeff Owen had been to court as a high-profile opponent of a county construction project near his home, and he suspected the county had filed charges in retaliation.
Recently, the Owens’ attorney Robert Apgood said that an order dismissing the charges in this bizarre case has been issued by the court. The state has 30 days to appeal.
Earlier, Kitsap County District Court Judge Marilyn Paja had ruled the county’s code does not apply to the couple’s business, clearing the way for the charges to be dismissed.
It was not disputed that the couple had used their home as a location for the photographing of leather-clad women posing on furniture or depicting scenes of bondage. However, the ordinance doesn’t cover such a business because the customers were not in contact with the performers at the location. In addition, the Web site is hosted on a computer in Illinois, and fees paid to access the site go to a company based in Seattle.
"As in other contexts, the laws and legislative bodies are challenged to keep up with Internet and computer-generated technology," wrote Judge Paja.
