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PART OF PATRIOT ACT STRUCK DOWN
NEW YORK, NY -- U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero has struck down the section of the U.S. Patriot Act that allowed the FBI to gather phone and Internet customer records while barring the Internet service providers from disclosing to anyone that the search had taken place. The 2001 law required Internet service providers and any other type of communication provider -- including telephone companies -- to comply with secret “national security letters" asking for information about subscribers.
        Judge Marrero said the non-disclosure mandate in the Patriot Act violated the Fourth Amendment because it had the effect of authorizing coercive and secret searches immune from judicial review. He also said the Act violated the First Amendment because it did not permit sufficient judicial review to protect Internet subscriber’s rights to anonymous speech and because the non-disclosure mandate constituted a prior restraint on speech.
        “A state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation’s citizens" said Marrero. “Sometimes a right, once extinguished, may be gone for good," he wrote.
        The ruling, in a case brought by the ACLU on behalf of an unidentified Internet service provider, blocks the government from issuing new requests for phone and Internet records. However, Judge Marrero stayed the injunction for 90 days, pending an appeal by the government which Attorney General John Ashcroft has said is likely.
        In addition to constitutional infirmities, Judge Marrero’s opinion pointed out various practical difficulties and inconsistencies in the poorly written law.
        ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer called the ruling a “landmark victory and a wholesale refutation of excessive government secrecy and unchecked executive power."
From Larry Neumeister, Associated Press, 9/30/2004
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/274/region/Ashcroft_Justice_Department_li:.shtm
And from Judge Marrero’s opinion (Doe v. Ashcroft) available as a PDF download from:
http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/RulingsOfInterest.htm
And from Declan McCullahn, CNET News, 9/29/04
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5388764.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed
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HIP GYRATING PROTECTED SPEECH, SAYS COURT
MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ ЃEThe 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling in a case brought by an exotic dance club called Dream Palace, has issued a decision validating most of a county adult business ordinance but invalidating some of it. The county can restrict sex businesses' hours of operation and require the businesses and their employees to get licenses and permits, said the court, because Arizona laws give business owners enough avenues of legal redress or appeal. However, regulations banning “sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated," go too far, amounting to a ban on nude dancing, which is a constitutionally protected activity.
        “If Elvis' gyrating hips can fairly be understood to constitute a simulated sex act, one can fully appreciate the potential scope of the restrictions placed on erotic dancers in Maricopa County," wrote Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain for a three-judge panel. “One is left to speculate as to what movements, precisely, a dancer may incorporate in a performance without running afoul of [the ordinance] and yet still effectively convey an essentially adult, erotic message to the audience."
        The court also ruled that the county could not publicly release sensitive information submitted by employees on their permit applications. Requiring dancers to give their stage names, addresses and phone numbers could expose them to harassment either from “aggressive suitors" or people opposed to the industry, the ruling said.
From The Associated Press, 9/27/04
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0927az-adultbusinesses27-ON.html
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LIGHT FINE AND PRAISE FOR UPSCALE CLUB
BALTIMORE, MD - Four days after opening the upscale Hustler club here in November, 2003, city vice cops paid a visit and observed illegal sexual touching. Now, a year later, the city liquor board has heard testimony from the vice officers and has fined Owner Jason Mohney $525 for violations of the rule. However, this was not until Mohney’s attorney, Peter Prevas and the board engaged in an hour-long discussion of the concept of touching.
        “I realistically thought we would be found not guilty of everything," said Prevas, adding that he was considering an appeal.
        Despite the fine, Jason Mohney may be making progress in convincing the city that he is serious in his promise to run the club as a classy, upscale establishment worthy of the designation “gentleman’s club." Liquor board Chairman Mark S. Fosler appeared empathetic in his closing remarks, encouraging Mohney to uphold high standards.
        “You have done a good thing with your security system," he said, referring to the club’s elaborate security system with 85 video cameras and a staff of security guards to monitor clients and dancers. “We want you to set the standard that others follow," said Fosler. “If there is anything we or the police can do to help, let us know."
From The Baltimore Sun, 9/24/04
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.hustler24sep24,1,7673601.story?
coll=bal-local-headlines
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ADULT VIDEO CHAIN OWNER SENTENCED
AUSTIN, TX - In June we reported on the plea bargain in the federal tax evasion and obscenity case against adult video chain owner John K. Coil and his family (See “Deal In Major Tax, Obscenity Case," June 18 X-Press). Recently the 62-year-old Coil was sentenced in that case to 63 months in federal prison. He also must pay a $5000 fine and forfeit extensive business holdings.
        Acting on a tip from Austin police, the feds launched a multi-agency investigation in the mid-nineties using wiretaps and an undercover agent working for Coil. Coil was accused of holding corporations in various names to hide income and avoid paying taxes. His obscenity plea was based on the interstate importation of the German hardcore film “Nympho Bride," which was described as containing “extreme sexual acts."
        Coil was the last to be sentenced from a group of seven originally indicted, including his wife, daughter and son. The others were given sentences ranging from probation to year-long prison terms.
From SexBizBlawg, 9/21/04
http://www.sexbizlaw.com/wordpress/index.php?p=35
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PASTOR/MAYOR MOVES AGAINST ADULT STORES
KENNEDALE, TX - In June we reported on the mayoral campaign of an anti-porn crusader, Jim Norwood. Pastor Norwood won the mayor’s office in a landslide and vowed to continue his efforts to curtail local adult businesses (see “Crusading Preacher Elected Mayor," June 11 X-Press). Now, five employees of four different adult retailers in Kennedale have been arrested on obscenity charges, all in one day. Included in the arrests were employees of Crystal’s, Dreamer’s Video, XXX Superstore Video and The Log Cabin.
        After an investigation, a state district judge examined videos and adult novelties gathered by undercover officers and found probable cause that the merchandise violated state obscenity laws. However, the Tarrent County district attorney has yet to agree to prosecute the cases.
From Scott Ross, Adult Video News, 9/29/04
http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Articles&Action=
View_Article&Content_ID=196932
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SURVEY SHOWS PARENT CONCERNS ABOUT TV
WASHINGTON, DC - A national survey released by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation shows that a majority of parents are “very" concerned about the amount of sex and violence on television. After being read arguments on both sides of the issue, nearly two-thirds of parents (63%) say they favor new regulations to limit the amount of sex and violence in TV shows during the early evening hours, when children are most likely to be watching (35% are opposed).
        Overall, parents are more concerned about inappropriate content on TV than in other media: 34% say TV concerns them most, compared to 16% who say the Internet, 10% movies, 7% music, and 5% video games.
        “What concerns parents most is not isolated incidents [such as the Janet Jackson controversy at this years Super Bowl] but the sex and violence they believe their kids are exposed to every day in the shows they regularly watch," said Vicky Rideout, Director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Program for the Study of Entertainment Media and Health.
From a Kaiser Family Foundation press release, 9/23/04
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia092304nr.cfm
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LETTER X CAUSES TROUBLE FOR RETAILER
FRANKLIN, TN - When Jack Beaty tried to open his new “Knife World" cutlery shop he innocently placed a logo from one of his featured knife brands in the window. “Case XX Knives," said the logo. Big mistake! A huge hubbub started, with wild rumors and motorists shouting obscenities as they drove by. There was even a picket protesting the logo. It seems people thought the Xs were symbols for adult entertainment.
        “Sir, do you even know what you’re picketing? Those are two Xs, not three," Beaty told the picket. The picket said he felt bad about the mistake. Not all critics were mollified by the clarification, however.
        “One lady told me whether it’s one X or four Xs, she didn’t want it," said Beaty. “She said X shouldn’t even be in the alphabet.’’
        Beaty pulled the logo from the window but plans to put it back in a smaller version. “It was too big," he said. “It dominated the window."
From Courtney Watson, The Tennessean, 9/28/04
http://tennessean.com/williamsonam/archives/04/09/58541274.shtml?
Element_ID=58541274    
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UpComing Events

SEPT 30-OCT 2 -- Chicago Adventure & Erotic Fair
http://www.chicagoadventure.org/Chicago_Adventure_-

_A_Lifestyl/chicago_adventure_-_a_lifestyl.html

OCT 10 – AdultCon,  Los Angeles, CA  www.adultcon.com

OCT  28-31 -- Everything To Do With Sex Show Toronto, Canada, www.everythingtodowithsex.com

JAN 4-6 – Internext, Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, NV http://www.internext-expo.com/.html

JAN 6-9, 2005 -- AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, Las Vegas, NV
www.homeentertainmentevents.com