Just a day after the Supreme Court upheld Erie, Pa.'s right to bar all-nude dancing, Carlstadt Mayor William Rosemann is ready to pass a similar law. And the Los Angeles attorney who challenged the Erie law before the Supreme Court calls it an instance of "political grandstanding" he anticipates in the immediate wake of the Court ruling - and says the right challenges to these laws could cost localities big.
Carlstadt has only one live all-nude club left, Stiletto's. That's after the Gallery was ordered to shut down last week because of zoning violations. But Rosemann says the town government will pass the proposed nude dance ban at its next meeting.
"It brings in an element that's not desired in our community," he tells the Bergen Record. He admits he wants Stiletto's closed as well, but he hopes a ban on all-nude dancing will crimp the club's business. "We respect and honor the First Amendment, but this is not a desirable establishment within the community."
The high court found the Erie ordinance content-neutral. But both the majority opinion by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and a concurring opinion by Justice David Souter also left what analysts like attorney John Weston call the opportunity to challenge localities passing these laws to prove secondary effects, as seemed to be implied in Rosemann's comments.
"They may well pass it," Weston told AVN On The Net about the Carlstadt proposal. "Some communities are going to rush out in a kind of political grandstanding. We have to recognize that that'll happen. We also have to recognize that, ultimately, the great majority of this kind of legislation is going to be challenged and, if properly challenged by good lawyers and before good judges, will ultimately end up being stricken."
Weston said Rosemann's remarks allude to a "frequently expressed concept" about adult businesses allegedly luring outside troublemakers to communities. "But, really, when one thinks about it, it's kind of invalid," he said.
And if and when such laws are struck down, Weston continued, the localities who pass them will be hit in the pocketbooks deeply. "As they have frequently in the past, (they will) be required to pay the prevailing party significant attorney's fees," he said. "(O)ver the years, our firm has collected millions of dollars from government entities which we have successfully sued in connection with challenges to these kinds of anti-adult entertainment laws.
A police detective tells the Record Stiletto's patrons can be as young as 18 because the club does not serve alcohol, but he admitted he couldn't recall any major crime incidents at the club, and that the club has its own strong security.
