Opinion of the Court
A Government Ordinances Banning Nude Dancing Does Not Violate the First Amendment
This case was granted certiorari on May 17, 1999, and was reversed on March 29, 2000. In a 6-to-3 decision, the Court held that an Erie City ordinance that bans public nudity, including nude dancing, does not violate the First Amendment. The following is excerpted from the summary of the majority opinion written by Justice Souter, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions:Government restrictions on public nudity such as Erie’s ordinance should be evaluated under the framework set forth in United States v. O’Brien (1968) for content-neutral restrictions on symbolic speech. Although being "in a state of nudity" is…
