won U.S. Supreme Court

City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc. and Highland Books

City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc. and Highland Books

Summary

In 1977, a study by the city of Los Angeles found that areas with a higher concentration of adult entertainment businesses also had higher crime rates in surrounding communities. Based on these findings, Los Angeles prohibited adult entertainment establishments within 1,000 feet of each other or within 500 feet of a religious institution, school, or public park.

Later, the city modified its code to also prevent multiple adult entertainment businesses from operating in the same building. Alameda Books, Inc. and Highland Books, Inc., which operated both adult bookstores and video arcades in their buildings, filed a lawsuit challenging the ordinance.

Alliance Defending Freedom helped fund Los Angeles’s legal defense, and in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city was within its rights to rely on the 1977 study as reasoning for its ordinance. The Court said Los Angeles had an interest in reducing crime, and based on the study’s results, restricting adult entertainment businesses could help it do so.

Case Documents

Court
Title
Date
U.S. Supreme Court
5/13/2002
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