Adult Businesses Under Attack

Efforts by local governments to regulate adult businesses have spawned legal battles across the country, with at least 10 cases decided by federal appeals courts this year. "There is more adult-business litigation under way now than I've ever seen," said C. Michael Hatzell, a lawyer who represents several adult businesses in a dispute with Louisville, KY.

Seven of the 10 rulings handed down by federal courts this year have gone against adult businesses. Governments appear to be doing a better job of drafting ordinances that don't violate the free-speech rights of the business owners a typical argument in litigation.

The most recent Supreme Court decision on the matter, issued in June, reinforced local governments' authority to license adult businesses. It answered a question about how adult-business operators must be allowed to appeal adverse decisions by municipal officials, he said.

In the New Albany case, the lawyer for New Albany DVD argues that the city violated his clients' First Amendment rights by closing the store and that it must submit specific evidence about the impact of adult businesses on neighborhoods if it wants to keep the store from reopening. City officials shut the store down by citing its lack of building and zoning permits. New Albany DVD's operators said the city illegally refused to perform a final inspection they had requested.

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