Court Upholds Sex Business Restrictions

Story >

Court Upholds Sex Business Restrictions

Special Report - September 5, 2007
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld a Pitt County ordinance that forced four sexually oriented businesses in the county to shut down. The ruling, filed September 4, affirms a decision by Superior Court Judge Rusty Duke, in which he determined the strip clubs were in violation of a local ordinance adopted by the Pitt County Board of Commissioners in October 2002. The regulations, which seek to curb “the deleterious effects of sexually oriented businesses while preserving constitutionally protected forms of expression,” require sexually oriented businesses to obtain a license and be located more than 1,320 feet from other such businesses, houses of worship, schools, day-care facilities, public parks and swimming pools, and residential areas.

The defendants in the case—Deja Vue, Inc., Deja Vue II, Misty’s, and Silver Bullet Dolls, Inc.—filed motions to have the complaint, which was put forth by Pitt County officials, dismissed for several reasons, including allegations that the ordinance violated their free speech rights. But the trial court rejected the defendants’ arguments, and the State Court of Appeals agreed. The three-judge panel of the Appeals Court concluded that the ordinance was “content neutral” as required by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that none of the other arguments warranted dismissal of the case. The ruling permanently enjoins the sexually oriented businesses from continuing to operate in their current locations.

“Courts have consistently upheld the right of counties and municipalities to restrict sexually oriented businesses because of the negative impact such establishments have on the surrounding community,” said John Rustin, director of government relations for the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “This ruling reaffirms the constitutionality of local ordinances that are designed to protect citizens from the harmful secondary effects of these businesses.”