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Thursday, July 05, 2007

Ind. Decisions - Rulings in the Spencer County adult business case now available

The ILB has had a number of entries on the Spencer County adult business dispute. The first entry, from Jan. 16, 2006, was headed "Adult business dispute draws top lawyers to fight in Spencer." See the entire list here.

On March 13 of this year, according to press reports at the time, Spencer County Circuit Court Judge Wayne Roell ordered the adult entertainment business shut down. The ILB ended its entry that day with "The ILB is trying to obtain a copy of Judge Roell's opinion to post here."

Later there were press reports, as cited in this May 19th ILB entry, that the adult business was still in operation, and speculation about what would happen next. A contempt of court hearing was held on May 21st, according to this entry from May 22nd.

This entry from June 20th quoted an AP story stating:

Spencer Circuit Judge Wayne Roell ruled Monday that because dancers appeared nude or seminude in the lounge, the business was in contempt for repeated failure to abide by the terms of the ordinance. The ruling allows the Love Boutique to remain open as long as it does not operate as a sexually oriented business. Roell also said the fines would increase with further violations.
The ILB ended the entry with "The ILB attempted to obtain a copy of Judge Roell's opinion at the time it was issued, but was unsuccessful. The ILB is attempting to clarify the closure issue."

This ILB entry from June 21 begins:

Apparently it was never ordered to close.

As the AP reported yesterday, Spencer Circuit Judge Wayne Roell has "fined the owners of a southern Indiana adult bookstore and lounge $30,000 for violating a county ordinance limiting the operation of a sexually oriented business."

The ILB wrote yesterday: "This seems odd, because a long list of earlier stories cited by the ILB reported that the judge had ordered the business to close immediately."

Today Kate Braser of the Evansville Courier & Press writes:

An adult business in Spencer County must pay a $30,000 fine for violating a court order limiting the amount of sexual material at the business.

The order was issued this week by Spencer County Circuit Court Judge Wayne Roell. The judge ruled in March that the Adult Plaza was in violation of a county ordinance outlawing sexually oriented businesses from existing within 1,000 feet of a home, church or school. * * *

In this week's five-page court order, Roell seeks to clarify "widely reported misconceptions about (the court's) prior ruling. "In its order of March 9, 2007, this court did not order that the defendants cease all operations," Roell wrote.

The entry ended with: "As noted in earlier posts, the ILB has been unsuccessful in its efforts to obtain copies of Judge Roell's two rulings, meaning all we have to go on is press reports. The ILB will make another effort this morning."

Today the ILB has finally obtained copies of Judge Roell's March 9, 2007 and June 18, 2007 rulings. They are a testament to why trial court opinions, especially in high profile cases, should be more widely available, so that the public's understanding of them is not confined to the analysis of the press.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 5, 2007 04:16 PM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions