ATLANTA—The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this week in favor of the city of Chamblee, Ga., affirming a lower district court decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parent company of a strip club that sued city officials over ordinance violations.
Follies, a now-shuttered strip club in Chamblee, engaged in a years-long litigation battle over ordinances that the parent company of the club argued violated its rights, including its First Amendment rights as an adult entertainment venue.
Local ordinances prohibited adult entertainment venues from selling alcohol and featuring fully nude dancers. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in 2020 that the club finally decided to close after a federal judge dismissed a case filed by the Follies’ owners.
The decision to throw out the case was appealed to the Eleventh Circuit. After years of pending litigation, a panel of three judges affirmed the district court’s ruling.
“On appeal, Follies argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on its free speech claims,” the circuit court’s ruling reads. In the ruling, the judges cite how Follies initially argued that First Amendment rights were violated and that such ordinances should be reviewed under strict scrutiny standards.
“The city has shown a substantial government interest in decreasing property crime, prostitution, sexual assault, and violence around the adult establishment in its community while still permitting alternative channels of communication, mainly semi-nude erotic dancing,” the court said, holding the ordinance to lower scrutiny.
Strict scrutiny is the highest standard courts traditionally use to determine whether freedom of expression is being limited or not under a particular law or regulation. The court ruled in favor of the city, applying a lower level of scrutiny because the courts saw the city as having a “substantial government interest” in the ordinances.
Follies initially appealed in August 2021. There is no indication of any appeal to a higher court at this time.
