This is a case that requires the decision of whether the establishment of nude dancing clubs and bars are promoting an increase in salacious behavior in the City of Norman. McWert is a business owner in the city of Norman and is also a Political Science professor at the University of Oklahoma. His business, along with thousands of other businesses alike across the United States, has multiple licenses to employ nude dancers at his establishment named “Come On In”. Without these licenses, he would be not able to own this thriving business. A business such as a nude dancing or strip club attracts a large number of men, and even women, and unsurprisingly receives a steady income from the patrons of the establishment. But the Norman city council
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Considering that this regulation is not related to the suppression of expression, the ordinance issued conveys a content-neutral restriction, proving to be “valid if it satisfies the four-factor test from O’Brien for evaluating restrictions on symbolic speech.” City of Erie v. Pap’s A.M., Part III, 529 U.S. 120 (2000). “Those guidelines are often referred to as the O’Brien four-prong test: (1) Is the regulation within Congress’s authority to enact? (2) Does the regulation further a legitimate governmental interest? (3) Is the regulation unrelated to the suppression of speech? And (4) Is the regulation only an incidental restriction on speech?” Being a content-neutral restriction, the negative secondary effects of “totally nude dancing establishments” that the Norman City Council is trying to avoid include increases in crime, prostitution, and salacious behavior. Their biggest concern is the decrease in attendance at City Council meetings because “Happy Hour” at McWert’s nude dancing establishment attracts more patrons to the club than to their council …show more content…
Political scientist Harry Clor proposed an “ideal system of legal control… wise men would solemnly weight three considerations: the moral evils of obscenity, the virtues of art, and the requirements of public consensus in a regime of rational liberty. Each consideration would be given its full weight in the light of the common good.” But as we all already know, a consensus this equal in constitutional politics will never be likely. As Justice Harlan recited “One man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric.” Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971). While going through the facts of this case and attempting to understand the benefits that McWert is actually trying to convey to the city of Norman, we have taken the time to consider both sides of the case. We conclude that McWert’s charges of violating the PRUDE ordinance must be reversed, so the attempt to better the community, in one way or another, can be pursued and the First Amendment rights can be reestablished in the attempt to better the government and city of
Considering that this regulation is not related to the suppression of expression, the ordinance issued conveys a content-neutral restriction, proving to be “valid if it satisfies the four-factor test from O’Brien for evaluating restrictions on symbolic speech.” City of Erie v. Pap’s A.M., Part III, 529 U.S. 120 (2000). “Those guidelines are often referred to as the O’Brien four-prong test: (1) Is the regulation within Congress’s authority to enact? (2) Does the regulation further a legitimate governmental interest? (3) Is the regulation unrelated to the suppression of speech? And (4) Is the regulation only an incidental restriction on speech?” Being a content-neutral restriction, the negative secondary effects of “totally nude dancing establishments” that the Norman City Council is trying to avoid include increases in crime, prostitution, and salacious behavior. Their biggest concern is the decrease in attendance at City Council meetings because “Happy Hour” at McWert’s nude dancing establishment attracts more patrons to the club than to their council …show more content…
Political scientist Harry Clor proposed an “ideal system of legal control… wise men would solemnly weight three considerations: the moral evils of obscenity, the virtues of art, and the requirements of public consensus in a regime of rational liberty. Each consideration would be given its full weight in the light of the common good.” But as we all already know, a consensus this equal in constitutional politics will never be likely. As Justice Harlan recited “One man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric.” Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971). While going through the facts of this case and attempting to understand the benefits that McWert is actually trying to convey to the city of Norman, we have taken the time to consider both sides of the case. We conclude that McWert’s charges of violating the PRUDE ordinance must be reversed, so the attempt to better the community, in one way or another, can be pursued and the First Amendment rights can be reestablished in the attempt to better the government and city of