A federal panel says a judge was too quick to dismiss two clubs' challenge of Manatee County's restrictions.
By Associated Press
Published July 17, 2003
BRADENTON - A federal judge must reconsider a decision upholding two Manatee County ordinances that placed restrictions on adult nightclubs, a federal appeals panel ruled.
The decision by a three-member panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revives a challenge the Peek-A-Boo Lounge and Temptations II made to ordinances passed in 1998 and 1999.
The first ordinance prohibited private rooms in adult clubs, required lobbies in adult nightclubs, set minimum levels of lighting and allowed deputies to search clubs without warrants.
The second outlawed nudity in public places and prohibited erotic dancers from wearing G-strings and thongs in public, except during "bona fide" performances.
The nightclubs challenged the ordinances in U.S. District Court, claiming they violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on warrantless searches and the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection.
Manatee County asked U.S. District Judge James Whittemore to dismiss the lawsuit by summary judgment in January 2001, arguing that adult clubs caused negative secondary effects such as crime and lower property values.
But the adult clubs hired a real estate agent and a researcher to write a market report, using county data, that the clubs said showed no adverse effects from their operations.
"For each and every issue of concern, we showed that the business had no adverse influence," Luke Lirot, an attorney for the adult clubs, said Wednesday.
But the judge sided with the county.
The appellate panel said the judge failed to give the adult clubs' report due consideration.
"We are reluctant to rule without further argument from the parties and findings by the district court," the appellate panel wrote.
The county can appeal the order to the full appellate court or the U.S. Supreme Court or move forward with a trial in district court.
Tedd Williams, Manatee County attorney, said he still had to read the opinion before responding.
