Giovani Carandola, Ltd. v. Fox , 470 F.3d 1074 ( 2006 )


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  •                            PUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA, LIMITED;              
    NORTH CAROLINA GOLF AND TRAVEL
    INCORPORATED, d/b/a Pure Gold of
    Southern Pines, a North Carolina
    Corporation,
    Plaintiffs-Appellees,
    v.
    DOUGLAS A. FOX, in his official
    capacity as Chairman of the North
    Carolina Alcoholic Beverage
    Control Commission; MIKE A.
    JOYNER, in his official capacity as         No. 05-2308
    Member of the North Carolina
    Alcoholic Beverage Control
    Commission; RICKY WRIGHT, in his
    official capacity as Member of the
    North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage
    Control Commission; BRYAN E.
    BEATTY, in his official capacity as
    Secretary of the North Carolina
    Department of Crime Control and
    Public Safety,
    Defendants-Appellants.
    
    2                       GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA, LIMITED;              
    NORTH CAROLINA GOLF AND TRAVEL
    INCORPORATED, d/b/a Pure Gold of
    Southern Pines,
    Plaintiffs-Appellants,
    v.
    RICKY WRIGHT, in his official
    capacity as Member of the North
    Carolina Alcoholic Beverage
    Control Commission; BRYAN
    BEATTY, in his official capacity as                No. 06-1040
    Secretary of the North Carolina
    Department of Crime Control and
    Public Safety; DOUGLAS A. FOX, in
    his official capacity as Chairman of
    the North Carolina Alcoholic
    Beverage Control Commission;
    MIKE A. JOYNER, in his official
    capacity as Member of the North
    Carolina Alcoholic Beverage
    Control Commission,
    Defendants-Appellees.
    
    Appeals from the United States District Court
    for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Durham.
    N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., Chief District Judge.
    (CA-01-115)
    Argued: October 24, 2006
    Decided: December 15, 2006
    Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                         3
    Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and vacated in part by published
    opinion. Judge Motz wrote the opinion, in which Judge Niemeyer and
    Judge Traxler joined.
    COUNSEL
    ARGUED: Christopher G. Browning, Jr., Solicitor General, NORTH
    CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Caro-
    lina, for Appellants/Cross-Appellees. J. Michael Murray, BERK-
    MAN, GORDON, MURRAY & DEVAN, Cleveland, Ohio, for
    Appellees/Cross-Appellants. ON BRIEF: Roy Cooper, North Caro-
    lina Attorney General, John Foster Maddrey, North Carolina Assistant
    Solicitor General, John Julian Aldridge, III, Special Deputy Attorney
    General, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
    Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellants/Cross-Appellees. Steven D.
    Shafron, BERKMAN, GORDON, MURRAY & DEVAN, Cleveland,
    Ohio, for Appellees/Cross-Appellants.
    OPINION
    DIANA GRIBBON MOTZ, Circuit Judge:
    The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission
    appeals to this court a second time. The Commission once again seeks
    relief from an order enjoining enforcement of a state statute regulating
    conduct on premises licensed by the Commission to serve alcohol. In
    the first appeal, we affirmed in relevant part an order that, in response
    to a challenge by Giovani Carandola, Ltd., preliminarily enjoined a
    predecessor statute. See Giovani Carandola, Ltd. v. Bason, 
    303 F.3d 507
     (4th Cir. 2002) ("Carandola I"). The North Carolina legislature
    then enacted a new statute. After Carandola, joined by additional
    plaintiffs, challenged that statute, the district court permanently
    enjoined the enforcement of its prohibitions on simulated sexual acts
    and fondling of sexual organs, finding these provisions vague and
    overbroad in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments; the
    court, however, refused to enjoin a prohibition on nudity, holding that
    it did not violate the Constitution. See Giovani Carandola, Ltd. v.
    4                          GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    Fox, 
    396 F. Supp. 2d 630
     (M.D.N.C. 2005) ("Carandola II"). The
    Commission appeals and Carandola cross-appeals. For the reasons
    stated herein, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and vacate in part.
    I.
    Carandola operates Christie’s Cabaret, an erotic dancing establish-
    ment in Greensboro, North Carolina, which holds Commission per-
    mits to sell alcoholic beverages. On November 11, 2000, a
    Commission enforcement officer witnessed erotic dancers at Chris-
    tie’s performing in a manner that violated then-applicable state law.
    See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-1005 (1995) and 4 N.C. Admin. Code
    2S.0216 (2002).1 When Christie’s received a violation notice, Caran-
    1
    Section 18B-1005 provided, in relevant part:
    (a) Certain Conduct — It shall be unlawful for a permittee or
    his agent or employee to knowingly allow any of the following
    kinds of conduct to occur on his licensed premises:
    ...
    (4) Any conduct or entertainment by any person whose private
    parts are exposed or who is wearing transparent clothing that
    reveals the private parts;
    (5) Any entertainment that includes or simulates sexual inter-
    course or any other sexual act; or
    (6) Any other lewd or obscene entertainment or conduct, as
    defined by the rules of the Commission.
    Pursuant to subsection (a)(6) of the statute, the Commission adopted 4
    N.C. Admin. Code 2S.0216:
    (a) No permittee or his employee shall allow any person to per-
    form acts of or acts that simulate:
    (1) sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral
    copulation, flagellation, or any sexual acts that are prohibited by
    law;
    (2) the touching, caressing or fondling of the breasts, buttocks,
    anus, vulva or genitals;
    (3)   the display of the pubic hair, anus, vulva or genitals.
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                            5
    dola filed suit, alleging that the statute and regulation violated its First
    Amendment rights. The district court held a hearing at which the offi-
    cer who cited Christie’s testified that general conduct violating the
    statute and regulation included touching one’s own fully clothed but-
    tocks, breasts, or genitals while in a licensed establishment. After the
    hearing, the district court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the
    statute and the regulation on the ground that Carandola would likely
    prevail on an overbreadth challenge.
    In Carandola I, we affirmed in relevant part, concluding that the
    statutory and regulatory restrictions swept "far beyond bars and nude
    dancing establishments." 
    303 F.3d at 516
    . We noted that the Commis-
    sion itself conceded that "the plain language of the restrictions prohib-
    its on licensed premises any entertainment that ‘simulate[s]’ sexual
    behavior, even if performers are fully clothed or covered, and even if
    the conduct is integral to the production — for example, a political
    satire, a Shakespeare play depicting young love, or a drama depicting
    the horrors of rape." 
    Id.
     (alteration in original). After careful review
    of the Commission’s interpretation of the challenged restrictions, we
    also determined that the restrictions were not "readily susceptible" to
    a limiting construction: indeed, the Commission did "not even suggest
    a possible limiting construction." 
    Id. at 517
    . Accordingly, we held
    that the district court "did not abuse its discretion in finding that Car-
    andola would likely prevail on its overbreadth challenge" and thus
    granting a preliminary injunction. 
    Id. at 520
    .
    In response to our ruling, the North Carolina General Assembly
    enacted a new statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-1005.1 (2005), which
    provides:
    (a) It shall be unlawful for a permittee or his agent or
    employee to knowingly allow or engage in any of the fol-
    lowing kinds of conduct on his licensed premises:
    (b) No permittee or his employee shall allow any person to use
    artificial devices or inanimate objects to depict any of the prohib-
    ited activities described in Paragraph (a) of this Rule.
    (c) No permittee or his employee shall allow any person who
    exposes to public view any portion of his pubic hair, vulva, geni-
    tals or anus to remain in or upon the licensed premises.
    6                     GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    (1) Any conduct or entertainment by any person
    whose genitals are exposed or who is wear-
    ing transparent clothing that reveals the geni-
    tals;
    (2) Any conduct or entertainment that includes
    or simulates sexual intercourse, masturbation,
    sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagella-
    tion, or any act that includes or simulates the
    penetration, however slight, by any object
    into the genital or anal opening of a person’s
    body; or
    (3) Any conduct or entertainment that includes
    the fondling of the breasts, buttocks, anus,
    vulva, or genitals.
    (b) Supervision. — It shall be unlawful for a permittee to
    fail to superintend in person or through a manager the busi-
    ness for which a permit is issued.
    (c) Exception. — This section does not apply to persons
    operating theaters, concerts halls, art centers, museums, or
    similar establishments that are primarily devoted to the arts
    or theatrical performances, when the performances that are
    presented are expressing matters of serious literary, artistic,
    scientific, or political value.
    The Commission then sought to vacate as moot the preliminary
    injunction of the old statute. Although the Commission had not yet
    enforced the new statute, Carandola (joined by several additional
    plaintiffs) challenged the new statute, claiming that it too violated
    both the First and Fourteenth Amendments. At a bench trial concern-
    ing the validity of the new statute, Dr. Judith Hanna, an anthropolo-
    gist who specializes in the non-verbal communication of dance,
    testified on behalf of Carandola that "movements in dance such as
    those with the hips, thighs, breasts, hair, and hands have traditionally
    been associated with simulating sex." Carandola II, 
    396 F. Supp. 2d at 653
    . The district court also considered testimony about whether
    sexually oriented businesses create negative secondary effects. With-
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                        7
    out resolving this question, the district court held that the Commission
    had produced sufficient evidence to support the legislative conclusion
    that sexually oriented businesses were associated with higher inci-
    dents of crime. 
    Id. at 651
    .
    The district court then issued a detailed opinion in which it upheld
    subsection 18B-1005.1(a)(1), concluding that the prohibition on
    nudity furthered North Carolina’s interest in reducing negative sec-
    ondary effects associated with the combination of adult entertainment
    and alcohol. 
    Id. at 652
    . However, the court enjoined the enforcement
    of subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3), finding them both facially vague and
    overbroad, and unconstitutional as applied to Carandola. 
    Id. at 655, 663
    . The Commission appeals the district court’s determinations that
    subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) are facially vague and overbroad, and
    unconstitutional as applied to Carandola. Carandola cross appeals,
    arguing that the court should have enjoined subsection (a)(1) of the
    statute, which prohibits nudity in licensed establishments. We con-
    sider first the Commission’s appeal, then Carandola’s cross-appeal.
    II.
    The Commission contends that the district court erred in holding
    the new statute facially vague and facially overbroad. We review the
    district court’s legal conclusions de novo. North Carolina v. City of
    Virginia Beach, 
    951 F.2d 596
    , 601 (4th Cir. 1992).
    A.
    The Commission initially argues that subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3)
    are not vague. A statute is impermissibly vague if it either (1) "fails
    to provide people of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to
    understand what conduct it prohibits" or (2) "authorizes or even
    encourages arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement." Hill v. Colo-
    rado, 
    530 U.S. 703
    , 732 (2000). In particular, a court must ask
    whether the statutory prohibitions "are set out in terms that the ordi-
    nary person exercising ordinary common sense can sufficiently under-
    stand and comply with." Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 
    413 U.S. 601
    , 608
    (1973)(quoting U.S. Civil Serv. Comm’n v. Nat’l Ass’n of Letter Car-
    riers, 
    413 U.S. 548
    , 579 (1973)).
    8                     GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    The district court invalidated subsection (a)(2) — prohibiting in
    licensed establishments conduct that "simulates sexual intercourse,
    masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, or any
    act that includes or simulates the penetration . . . by any object into
    the genital or anal opening" — because it found the word "simulates"
    vague. For example, the court feared that prohibiting "simulate[d]
    sexual intercourse" would preclude entertainers from gyrating their
    hips on stage "in a rapid motion." Carandola II, 
    396 F. Supp. 2d at 661
    .
    However, the dictionary precisely defines "simulate" as a verb
    meaning "to make a pretense of; feign . . . [or] to assume or have the
    appearance or characteristics of." Webster’s New Universal
    Unabridged Dictionary 1783 (1996). The Supreme Court and many
    other courts have held that the word "simulate" is sufficiently clear
    when used in similar statutory prohibitions. See, e.g., New York v.
    Ferber, 
    458 U.S. 747
    , 765 (1982) (holding that a statute defining for-
    bidden content, in part, as "actual or simulated sexual intercourse"
    "sufficiently describes" the prohibited material); Miller v. California,
    
    413 U.S. 15
    , 25 (1973) (noting that "ultimate sexual acts" whether
    "actual or simulated" constitute a "plain example[ ] of what a state
    statute could define for regulation" as obscene); United States v.
    Adams, 
    343 F.3d 1024
    , 1034-36 (9th Cir. 2003) (upholding against
    vagueness challenge a statute prohibiting the possession of materials
    depicting a minor engaged in "sexually explicit conduct," which
    includes "simulated" acts); Farkas v. Miller, 
    151 F.3d 900
    , 901, 905
    (8th Cir. 1998) (upholding against vagueness challenge a statute pro-
    hibiting "the actual or simulated public performance of any sex act"
    because "[p]ersons of ordinary intelligence would not be confused as
    to the . . . meaning of the term[ ] ‘simulated sex act’"). Indeed, Caran-
    dola fails to cite, and we have not found, a case in which any court
    has held "simulate" vague in a similar context.
    We too conclude that in context "simulate" is sufficiently precise
    to notify persons of ordinary intelligence of the conduct prohibited by
    the statute and to prevent the risk of arbitrary or discriminatory
    enforcement. As the Commission notes, "[T]here is a distinct and
    very real difference between a gesture that may, in the abstract, sym-
    bolize sexual intercourse (such as gyrating one’s hips) and an act that
    causes the audience to believe that they are actually observing sexual
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                        9
    intercourse." Reply Brief of Appellants at 25. An act only constitutes
    simulated sexual intercourse or simulated masturbation if it creates
    the realistic impression of an actual sexual act. No one would mistake
    a dancer gyrating her hips for someone having intercourse, nor
    believe that a Carolina Panthers cheerleader patting her buttocks as
    part of a dance routine was masturbating.
    The district court also enjoined enforcement of subsection (a)(3) —
    banning in licensed establishments "fondling of the breasts, buttocks,
    anus, vulva, or genitals" — after finding the word "fondling" uncon-
    stitutionally vague. The court noted that dictionaries define "fondle"
    differently. Carandola II, 
    396 F. Supp. 2d at 661
     (comparing Web-
    ster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary 745 (1996) (defining
    "fondle" as "to handle or touch lovingly, affectionately, or tenderly;
    caress"), Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary 494
    (1984) (defining "fondle" as "to treat indulgently and solicitously:
    pamper"), and Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 480 (1987)
    (defining "fondle" as "to show affection or desire by caressing")).
    Notwithstanding these slight differences, however, all definitions
    of "fondle" imply an element of "love," "affection," or "indulgen[ce],"
    whereas mere touching does not. For this reason, the new statute is
    more precise than the regulations implementing its predecessor,
    which banned "touching" as well as "fondling." See 4 N.C. Admin.
    Code 2S.0216(a)(2) (2002). Moreover, the present statute uses the
    single word "fondling" in conjunction with specified erogenous
    zones, indicating that it aims to prevent overt sexual contact, some-
    thing the ordinary person likely understands. See N.C. Gen. Stat.
    § 18B-1005.1(a)(3)(2005).
    Furthermore, although few cases have considered whether the word
    "fondle" is vague, those that have done so have concluded, as we do,
    that it is not. See, e.g., Kev, Inc. v. Kitsap County, 
    793 F.2d 1053
    ,
    1057-58 (9th Cir. 1986) (holding that provisions of an ordinance pro-
    hibiting erotic dancers from "fondling" and "caressing" any patron
    were not unconstitutionally vague); J.L. Spoons, Inc. v. O’Connor,
    
    190 F.R.D. 433
    , 444 (N.D. Ohio 1999) (holding that the word "fon-
    dle" is sufficiently clear and noting that "[r]egulatory language need
    not be mathematically precise"). Like "simulate," "fondling" is suffi-
    ciently clear to put persons of ordinary intelligence on notice as to
    10                    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    what conduct the statute prohibits and to prevent the risk of arbitrary
    enforcement.
    For these reasons, we reverse the portions of the district court’s
    order finding the new statute unconstitutionally vague on its face.
    B.
    The Commission next argues that the district court erred in holding
    subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) facially overbroad. Pursuant to the over-
    breadth doctrine, a party may "challenge a statute on its face because
    it also threatens others not before the court — those who desire to
    engage in legally protected expression but who may refrain from
    doing so rather than risk prosecution or undertake to have the law
    declared partially invalid." Bd. of Airport Comm’rs v. Jews for Jesus,
    Inc., 
    482 U.S. 569
    , 574 (1987) (internal quotation marks omitted).
    "[W]here conduct and not merely speech is involved . . . the over-
    breadth of a statute must not only be real, but substantial as well,
    judged in relation to the statute’s plainly legitimate sweep." Broadr-
    ick, 
    413 U.S. at 615
    . "[A] law should not be invalidated for over-
    breadth unless it reaches a substantial number of impermissible
    applications . . . ." Ferber, 
    458 U.S. at 771
    . If an overbreadth chal-
    lenge succeeds, "any enforcement" of the regulation at issue is "to-
    tally forbidden." Broadrick, 
    413 U.S. at 613
    . Thus, the Supreme
    Court has famously cautioned that the overbreadth doctrine "is, mani-
    festly, strong medicine" and should be used "sparingly and only as a
    last resort." 
    Id.
     A court should invoke a "limiting construction" or
    employ "partial invalidation" before resorting to a finding of facial
    overbreadth. Id.
    1.
    To determine whether a statute "reaches a substantial number of
    impermissible applications," Ferber, 
    458 U.S. at 771
    , a court must
    apply the appropriate level of First Amendment scrutiny. In Caran-
    dola I, we subjected the predecessor North Carolina statute to inter-
    mediate, rather than strict, scrutiny because the legislature enacted it,
    at least in part, "to address the secondary effects that follow from
    lewd conduct on licensed premises, and [because] hostility to erotic
    expression, if a purpose of the restrictions at all, does not constitute
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                       11
    the predominant purpose." Carandola I, 
    303 F.3d at
    515 (citing City
    of Erie v. Pap’s A.M., 
    529 U.S. 277
    , 292 (2000) (plurality opinion)
    and City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc., 
    475 U.S. 41
    , 47
    (1986)). It is even more plain that in enacting the new statute the leg-
    islature acted to reduce the secondary effects that flow from adult
    entertainment on licensed premises. Indisputably, the legislature
    passed the new statute in response to our opinion in Carandola I and
    the preamble to the new statute expressly states that its purpose is "to
    address the harmful secondary effects of such entertainment, includ-
    ing higher crime rates, public sexual conduct, sexual assault, prostitu-
    tion, and other secondary negative effects," rather than to "suppress
    the conduct of [such] entertainment." 
    2003 N.C. Sess. Laws 382
    . Like
    the old statute, the new statute does not have as its "predominant pur-
    pose" an intent to suppress free expression. Thus, we again apply
    intermediate scrutiny to determine whether the statute reaches a "sub-
    stantial number of impermissible applications," Ferber, 
    458 U.S. at 771
    .
    To withstand intermediate scrutiny, a state must demonstrate that
    a statute "materially advances an important or substantial interest by
    redressing past harms or preventing future ones." Satellite Broad. &
    Commc’ns Ass’n v. FCC, 
    275 F.3d 337
    , 356 (4th Cir. 2001) (citing
    Turner Broad. Sys., Inc. v. FCC, 
    512 U.S. 622
    , 664 (1994)). Here, as
    in Carandola I, even without considering any evidence, we can con-
    clude that the State has a substantial interest in regulating nude and
    topless dancing, because such entertainment has "‘a long history of
    spawning deleterious effects.’" 
    303 F.3d at 516
     (quoting Steakhouse,
    Inc. v. City of Raleigh, 
    166 F.3d 634
    , 637 (4th Cir. 1999)). Similarly,
    we can conclude that the State has a substantial interest in regulating
    "simulate[d]" sexual activity and "fondling" of sexual organs in
    licensed establishments because the State may "rely on the evidenti-
    ary foundation set forth in Renton and [Young v. American Mini The-
    atres, Inc., 
    427 U.S. 50
     (1976)], to the effect that [harmful] secondary
    effects are caused by the presence of even one adult entertainment
    establishment in a given neighborhood." Pap’s, 
    529 U.S. at 297
    .2
    2
    Although Pap’s did not concern the exact conduct regulated here, it
    stands for the proposition that a government entity may rely on the evi-
    dentiary foundation established in Renton and Young to conclude that
    adult entertainment establishments, like Christie’s Cabaret, are associ-
    ated with negative secondary effects.
    12                    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    Despite these substantial government interests, in Carandola I we
    found the prohibitions overbroad because the challenged restrictions
    prohibited myriad expressive activities within "the heartland of [First
    Amendment] protection." 
    303 F.3d at 516
     (internal quotation marks
    omitted). There, the Commission interpreted the old restrictions
    broadly, and construed "simulated" sexual behavior to ban sexually
    explicit conduct even by "fully clothed" performers in political satires
    or Shakespeare plays. 
    Id.
     According to the Commission, the old
    restrictions also prohibited "much non-erotic dance — such as a ballet
    in which one dancer touches another’s buttock during a lift — and all
    nudity or simulated nudity, however brief, in productions with clear
    artistic merit — such as the Pulitzer Prize winning play, Wit." 
    Id.
     The
    Commission argued that such broad restrictions constituted the "‘only
    means to protect its interest’ in preventing societal problems." 
    Id. at 517
     (quoting Reply Brief at 7). We rejected that argument, concluding
    that the restrictions were facially overbroad because they swept "far
    beyond bars and nude dancing establishments" to reach a great deal
    of protected expression. 
    Id. at 516
    .
    Carandola maintains that, like the old restrictions, the new statute
    is facially overbroad because it prohibits "vast amounts of constitu-
    tionally protected expression." Brief of Appellees at 23. According to
    Carandola, the new statute’s prohibition on "simulate[d]" sexual
    activity proscribes ballet, hip hop, belly dancing, flamenco, jazz danc-
    ing, and even "the Irish Step Dance," and its prohibition on "fondling"
    bars any "touch[ing] of [the] breast and buttocks." Id. at 31. Finally,
    Carandola contends that the exception set forth in the new statute —
    rendering all prohibitions inapplicable to performances in "theaters,
    concert halls, art centers, museums or similar establishments that are
    primarily devoted to the arts or theatrical performances, when the per-
    formances that are presented are expressing matters of serious liter-
    ary, artistic, scientific, or political value" — is "exceedingly narrow"
    and does not cure the statute’s facial overbreadth. Id. at 34.3
    3
    Carandola cites cases from our sister circuits that assertedly support
    this view. See, e.g., Conchatta Inc. v. Miller, 
    458 F.3d 258
     (3d Cir.
    2006); Odle v. Decatur County, 
    421 F.3d 386
     (6th Cir. 2005); Dream
    Palace v. County of Maricopa, 
    384 F.3d 990
     (9th Cir. 2004); R.V.S., LLC
    v. City of Rockford, 
    361 F.3d 402
     (7th Cir. 2004); Ways v. City of Lin-
    coln, 
    274 F.3d 514
     (8th Cir. 2001); Schultz v. City of Cumberland, 228
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                        13
    The district court largely accepted this argument, but we cannot. To
    do so would ignore the Commission’s concessions about the scope of
    the new statute and trivialize the legislative revisions made in
    response to Carandola I.
    2.
    First, rather than asserting, as it did in Carandola I, that the new
    statute reaches every wiggle or touch in a licensed establishment, the
    Commission concedes, indeed argues, that the new statute bans only
    limited activities. The Commission acknowledges that subsection
    (a)(2)’s prohibition on "simulate[d]" sexual acts only applies to per-
    formances "that give the realistic impression or illusion that sexual
    intercourse [or masturbation, etc.] is being performed for the audi-
    ence." Reply Brief of Appellants at 30. Similarly, the Commission
    recognizes that subsection (a)(3)’s prohibition on "fondling" of but-
    tocks, genitals, breasts, etc. only bars a performer from actually "ma-
    nipulating specified erogenous zones." 
    Id.
    Under the Commission’s interpretation, the new statute has no pro-
    hibitory effect on non-erotic dance and would not apply to "other
    mainstream entertainment, including popular and award-winning
    musicals such as Cabaret, Chicago, Contact, and The Full Monty."
    Carandola I, 
    303 F.3d at 516
    . In fact, the Commission conceded at
    oral argument that even a performance by Madonna, who is known
    for her sexually explicit dancing, would not fall within the new stat-
    ute’s ambit unless it gave the audience the realistic impression that
    Madonna was actually performing a sexual act.
    Carandola argues, however, that we cannot accept the Commis-
    sion’s construction of "simulates" and "fondling" — not because the
    F.3d 831 (7th Cir. 2000); Triplett Grille, Inc. v. City of Akron, 
    40 F.3d 129
     (6th Cir. 1994). But in fact, not a single one of these cases invali-
    dates for facial overbreadth a statute like that at issue here. None
    involves a statute with an exception for performances of serious artistic
    value at certain venues. Furthermore, the majority of these cases do not
    concern prohibitions like that here, which only apply to places serving
    alcohol; such prohibitions are necessarily narrower than a universal ban
    on sexually explicit conduct.
    14                     GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    statute is not "readily susceptible" to this construction, but because
    the "evidentiary record refutes" this construction. Brief of Appellees
    at 37. The "evidentiary record" on which Carandola relies, however,
    involves enforcement of the old restrictions; the new statute has never
    been enforced and as such we have no relevant "evidentiary record."
    Rather, the Commission has iterated and reiterated that it does not
    interpret and will not enforce the new statute as it did the old restric-
    tions. See Reply Brief of Appellants at 23 n.5, 26 n.6, and 28 n.7. On
    a facial challenge, we must apply a reasonable limiting construction
    where one is available. See Virginia v. Am. Booksellers Ass’n, 
    484 U.S. 383
    , 397 (1988). Here, the statute is "readily susceptible" to the
    construction offered by the Commission, see 
    id.,
     and we have no rea-
    son to doubt that the Commission will enforce the statute in accor-
    dance with this limited interpretation.
    3.
    Construing the new statute to prohibit only manipulation of speci-
    fied erogenous zones and conduct that gives the realistic impression
    of a sexual act cures much of the overbreadth we found in the old
    restrictions in Carandola I. But there, we also noted that the chal-
    lenged restrictions reached far beyond bars and nude dancing estab-
    lishments to affect venues such as arenas, theaters, and comedy clubs
    — all places that might provide entertainment protected by the First
    Amendment. Citing Farkas v. Miller, 
    151 F.3d 900
     (8th Cir. 1998),
    and J&B Entm’t v. City of Jackson, 
    152 F.3d 362
     (5th Cir. 1998), we
    suggested that the State could have limited the scope of its statute to
    "target[ ] only those venues where secondary effects are likely to
    arise, while leaving other speech unaffected." Carandola I, 
    303 F.3d at 517
    .
    The North Carolina legislature took this suggestion to heart and
    provided an exception in the new statute for "persons operating the-
    aters, concert halls, art centers, museums, or similar establishments
    that are primarily devoted to the arts or theatrical performances, when
    the performances that are presented are expressing matters of serious
    literary, artistic, scientific, or political value." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-
    1005.1 (2005). Carandola argues that this exception is "exceedingly
    narrow," Brief of Appellees at 34, and the district court agreed.
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                            15
    The exception is indeed narrower than that in one of the cases we
    cited, J&B Entm’t.4 There the statute exempted all persons "engaged
    in expressing a matter of serious literary, artistic, scientific or political
    value," regardless of the venue in which the expression took place.
    J&B Entm’t, 
    152 F.3d at 381
    . But the exception here is similar to that
    upheld in Farkas, the other case we noted as an exemplar in Caran-
    dola I; in Farkas, the challenged statute prohibited "the actual or sim-
    ulated public performance of any sex act" in businesses required to
    obtain a sales tax permit, but exempted those performances in "a the-
    ater, concert hall, art center, museum, or similar establishment which
    is primarily devoted to the arts or theatrical performances." 
    151 F.3d at 901, 902
    .
    To be sure, neither the exception in Farkas, nor that in the new
    North Carolina statute covers all venues that might conceivably host
    serious artistic performances. Thus, we cannot agree with the Farkas
    court that such an exception fully "limits the reach of the restrictions
    to the type of adult entertainment that is associated with harmful sec-
    ondary effects." 
    Id. at 905
    . However, the exception does shelter most
    protected activity.
    Certainly, the new statute, with the limited constructions of subsec-
    tions (a)(2) and (a)(3) proffered by the Commission and the exception
    in subsection (c), does not "reach[ ] a substantial number of imper-
    missible applications." Ferber, 
    458 U.S. at 771
    . Accordingly, we
    reverse the portions of the district court order holding subsections
    (a)(2) and (a)(3) of the statute unconstitutional as facially overbroad.5
    4
    We reject the Commission’s argument that the exception in the statute
    protects all performances of serious literary, artistic, scientific, or politi-
    cal value, no matter where performed; for example, the Commission sug-
    gests that a restaurant, nightclub, or other establishment presenting a play
    would at that moment become a "theater," and so would be protected
    from the ban. Reply Brief of Appellants at 33. Carandola argues and we
    agree that the language of the exception is not "readily susceptible" to the
    Commission’s proposed construction. Accordingly, although of course
    the Commission may enforce the exception in this manner, we cannot
    adopt that construction. See Carandola I, 
    303 F.3d at
    517 (citing Erznoz-
    nik v. City of Jacksonville, 
    422 U.S. 205
    , 216 (1975)).
    5
    The Commission also appeals the district court’s holding that subsec-
    tions (a)(2) and (a)(3) of the new statute are unconstitutional as applied
    16                     GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX
    III.
    Carandola cross appeals the portion of the district court order find-
    ing that subsection (a)(1) of the new statute — which prohibits "[a]ny
    conduct or entertainment by any person whose genitals are exposed
    or who is wearing transparent clothing that reveals the genitals" —
    withstands a facial challenge. Carandola maintains that the district
    court should have enjoined enforcement of subsection (a)(1) because
    it prohibits nudity even when it occurs as part of a serious theatrical
    production or artistic work.
    We agree with the district court, however, that subsection (a)(1) is
    not facially overbroad. The Supreme Court has upheld general public
    nudity statutes (i.e., not prohibitions confined to licensed establish-
    ments like those at issue here) that required erotic dancers to wear
    pasties and G-strings. See Pap’s, 
    529 U.S. at 300-01
    ; Barnes v. Glen
    Theatre, Inc., 
    501 U.S. 560
    , 571 (1991) (plurality opinion) ("[T]he
    requirement that the dancers don pasties and G-strings does not
    deprive the dance of whatever erotic message it conveys; it simply
    makes the message slightly less graphic.").
    Although Pap’s and Barnes do not involve what might be generally
    regarded as serious theatrical productions, nude expression in such
    to Carandola. Similarly, Carandola cross-appeals, arguing that the district
    court erred in its analysis of the as-applied challenge in declining to
    resolve the factual dispute over whether sexually oriented businesses are
    actually associated with negative secondary effects. Neither claim is ripe
    for review, however, since the new statute has never been applied to Car-
    andola. Carandola bases its as-applied challenge entirely on the citations
    it received under the old statute. "Past exposure to illegal conduct does
    not in itself show a present case or controversy . . . if unaccompanied by
    any continuing, present adverse effects." Renne v. Geary, 
    501 U.S. 312
    ,
    320-21 (1991). Thus, Carandola cannot claim any current adverse
    affects. See Jordahl v. Democratic Party of Va., 
    122 F.3d 192
    , 198 (4th
    Cir. 1997) (holding as-applied challenge not ripe because "all of the
    ‘harms’ which the [plaintiff] alleges were suffered by it are stated in the
    past tense and relate to . . . a statute which is no longer in effect").
    Because Carandola’s as-applied challenge is not ripe for review, we must
    vacate the judgment of the district court that subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3)
    are unconstitutional as applied to Carandola.
    GIOVANI CARANDOLA v. FOX                       17
    productions is most likely to occur in the venues specifically
    exempted from the new statute’s prohibitions. It is possible to imag-
    ine hypothetical examples of protected nudity that would occur in
    licensed venues not exempted by the new statute, but it is hard to con-
    ceive of a substantial number of such impermissible applications. See
    J&B Entm’t, 
    152 F.3d at 367
     (upholding statute against overbreadth
    challenge because "although hypothetical examples in which the
    Ordinance may be overbroad can be imagined, these examples, in
    comparison to its legitimate sweep, are not substantial"). We thus
    affirm the district court judgment upholding subsection (a)(1) of the
    statute.
    IV.
    For the foregoing reasons, the district court’s judgment is
    AFFIRMED IN PART,
    REVERSED IN PART,
    AND VACATED IN PART.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 05-2308, 06-1040

Citation Numbers: 470 F.3d 1074, 2006 WL 3691288

Judges: Niemeyer, Motz, Traxler

Filed Date: 12/15/2006

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 11/5/2024

Authorities (22)

giovani-carandola-limited-a-north-carolina-corporation-janel-d-ralph-v , 303 F.3d 507 ( 2002 )

Board of Airport Comm'rs of Los Angeles v. Jews for Jesus, ... , 107 S. Ct. 2568 ( 1987 )

steakhouse-incorporated-a-florida-corporation-investment-partners , 166 F.3d 634 ( 1999 )

Virginia v. American Booksellers Assn., Inc. , 108 S. Ct. 636 ( 1988 )

Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. , 111 S. Ct. 2456 ( 1991 )

Hill v. Colorado , 120 S. Ct. 2480 ( 2000 )

Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville , 95 S. Ct. 2268 ( 1975 )

Kev, Inc. v. Kitsap County and the Honorable Ray Aardal and ... , 793 F.2d 1053 ( 1986 )

Triplett Grille, Inc., D/B/A the Back Door v. City of Akron , 40 F.3d 129 ( 1994 )

ronald-g-farkas-doing-business-as-tuxedos-tina-bryson-doing-business-as , 151 F.3d 900 ( 1998 )

New York v. Ferber , 102 S. Ct. 3348 ( 1982 )

J&b Entertainment, Inc. v. City of Jackson, Mississippi , 152 F.3d 362 ( 1998 )

conchatta-inc-tdba-club-risque-on-the-delaware-gail-baker-sabrina , 458 F.3d 258 ( 2006 )

john-ways-v-city-of-lincoln-nebraska-a-city-of-the-primary-class-don , 274 F.3d 514 ( 2001 )

R.V.S., L.L.C. v. City of Rockford , 361 F.3d 402 ( 2004 )

United States v. Steven Michael Adams , 343 F.3d 1024 ( 2003 )

herbert-odle-dba-sports-club-inc-sherill-douglas-jenifer-cosimano-and , 421 F.3d 386 ( 2005 )

dream-palace-an-arizona-limited-liability-company-dba-liberty , 384 F.3d 990 ( 2004 )

Broadrick v. Oklahoma , 93 S. Ct. 2908 ( 1973 )

Giovani Carandola, Ltd. v. Fox , 396 F. Supp. 2d 630 ( 2005 )

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