The Hawaii Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the city can ban doors on so-called "peep-show booths," according to a published report.
The purpose of the 1997 ordinance banning the doors was purportedly to curtail drug dealing and prostitution, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported. However, Earle Partington, the attorney for Suzie’s Adult Superstore in its challenge of the ordinance, said Honolulu police or other city agencies had not received complaints about Suzie’s or its booths in its 20-plus years in Waikiki. Partington said the ordinance was an example of the mentality of the religious right, which has been successful in enforcing its values on the rest of the population, the newspaper said.
Suzie’s had argued that losing the doors and curtains would have an economic impact on the city and state, because the enclosures provide privacy and without them adult stores would lose virtually all booth clientele, according to the report.
The city argued that the economic impact of the ordinance is not relevant to whether it is constitutional.
