S.O.C., Inc. v. County of Clark

481 F. Supp. 2d 1122, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29148
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedMarch 13, 2007
DocketNos. 2:97-cv-0123-LDG-RJJ, 2:97-cv-0146-LDG-RJJ
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 481 F. Supp. 2d 1122 (S.O.C., Inc. v. County of Clark) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
S.O.C., Inc. v. County of Clark, 481 F. Supp. 2d 1122, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29148 (D. Nev. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER

GEORGE, District Judge.

This is Clark County’s and intervenor defendants’ repeated attempt to advance an ordinance which prohibits off-premise distribution of materials in areas surrounding the Las Vegas “Strip” and the Las Vegas Convention Center (collectively, the “resort district”), including the distribution by plaintiffs of leaflets that advertise erotic dance entertainment services (“outcall services”). Previously, in S.O.C., Inc. v. County of Clark, 152 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir.), amended, 160 F.3d 541 (9th Cir.1998)(S.O.C), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the original Clark County Ordinance 16.12, which prohibited speech that “propose[d][a] commercial transaction,” was overbroad. The S.O.C. court noted, among other deficiencies, that the ordinance did not use any limiting language such as “solely,” “exclusively” or “primarily,” to identify the commercial speech to be regulated as “speech which does no more than propose a commercial transaction.” 152 F.3d at 1143-44 (citations omitted).

[1125]*1125Rather than seek further review of the S.O.C. decision, or focus on enacting a time, place and manner regulation, Clark County latched onto the Ninth Circuit’s use of the word “primarily” in amending 16.12 to reach only speech “primarily” proposing a commercial transaction. Clark County Ordinance 16.12(5) currently provides:

“Off-premises canvassing” means repetitively distributing, or offering, on public sidewalks, handbills, flyers or other printed or written materials which primarily proposes a commercial transaction. The meaning of “primarily proposes a commercial transaction” is intended to be coextensive with commercial speech standards applied by Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Comm’n, 447 U.S. 557, 100 S.Ct. 2343, 65 L.Ed.2d 341 (1980) and its progeny.

Plaintiffs and intervenor plaintiff American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (the “ACLUN”) sought to enjoin 16.12 as amended (hereafter “the ordinance”), and the court issued a preliminary injunction. The court determined that the ordinance did not correct the overbreadth defect identified by S.O.C. After the Ninth Circuit declined to review the issuance of the preliminary injunction as an interlocutory order, the court conducted a bench trial on the following principal issues: (1) whether the ACLUN and plaintiffs Hillsboro, Sor-anno and S.O.C. had standing to challenge the ordinance, and (2) whether the ordinance is substantially overbroad or vague.1 The following decision shall be construed as findings of fact and conclusions of law.

I. The ACLUN’s Standing

The S.O.C. court reversed this court’s denial of a preliminary injunction of the enforcement of former 16.12 based on an overbreadth claim brought by the ACLUN, although that claim was never properly presented to this court. In its opinion, the S.O.C. court determined that “[b]ecause the ACLUN’s claims ‘are rooted in the First Amendment’ the ACLUN has standing to challenge the impact of the Clark County ordinance as it relates to its own expressive activities, as well as those of others.” Id. at 1143 (citing Perry v. Los Angeles Police Dept., 121 F.3d 1365, 1368 (9th Cir.1997)).

The Clark County defendants and inter-venor defendants (collectively “defendants”) argue that despite the Ninth Circuit’s previous ruling on the ACLUN’s standing, the ACLUN has the burden to show that “the Ordinance has caused it to refrain from any activities whatsoever, let alone activities covered by the Ordinance.” Admittedly, the current ordinance differs from former 16.12, which was reviewed by the S.O.C. court, in that it identifies the reach of the ordinance to be materials that “primarily” propose a commercial transaction. But, the S.O.C. court’s standing analysis, which was based simply on the ACLUN’s claims being “rooted” in the First Amendment, would appear to remain undisturbed by the changes to 16.12’s language. In any event, even if the court were to find that the S.O.C. court’s holding did not control the question of the ACLUN’s standing in the context of the ordinance, and considered the issue anew, the court’s standing determination would be no different.

The requirements of Article III standing are well-established: “[A] plaintiff must show (1) it has suffered an ‘injury in fact’ that is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent, not [1126]*1126conjectural or hypothetical; (2) the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant; and (3) it is likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision.” Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 180-81, 120 S.Ct. 693, 145 L.Ed.2d 610 (2000). In the First Amendment context, “it is sufficient for standing purposes that the plaintiff intends to engage in a course of conduct arguably affected with a constitutional interest and that there is a credible threat that the challenged provision will be invoked against the plaintiff.” American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada v. Heller, 378 F.3d 979, 983 (9th Cir.2004). Furthermore, plaintiffs need not suffer or risk suffering prosecution under a statute to demonstrate injury from it. Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 v. Del Papa, 200 F.3d 614, 617-18 (9th Cir.1999). Instead, plaintiffs may meet the standing requirement if they “have been threatened with prosecution, [if] a prosecution is likely, or even [if] a prosecution is remotely possible.” Id. at 618.

At trial, the executive director of the ACLUN, Gary Peck, testified on direct examination that the ACLUN is a public, non-profit, public interest, tax-deductible charitable organization whose principal mission is to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Peck testified that, pursuant to that mission, the organization through its members and volunteers distributes its own publications within the resort district. These publications include its own newsletter containing information about local and national ACLUN activities, and a variety of solicitations for membership and donations which could also contain offers for the sale of message-containing merchandise. During his testimony, Peck offered as a representative sample of the ACLUN’s publications (1) a membership solicitation flier containing information about the ACLU’s program and a request for donations, (2) an ACLU pledge card soliciting membership and donations, (3) ACLUN’s newsletters published in the Fall of 2002 and 2003. Peck testified that he has handed out these specific documents in the resort district (except for the 2003 newsletter), or similar kinds of materials, or they have been distributed by other ACLUN members.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
481 F. Supp. 2d 1122, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/soc-inc-v-county-of-clark-nvd-2007.