Green Valley Investments, LLC v. Winnebago County, Wisc.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
First Amendment
Defendant’s zoning ordinance, which required plaintiff to seek permits to operate cabaret featuring nude dancing within area authorized by zoning law, violated First Amendment, since it constituted impermissible prior restraint that served to limit expressive activity based on content of said activity, as well as defendant’s determination as to whether proposed cabaret would be detrimental to public welfare. Moreover, defendant could not establish presence of powerful overriding interest for imposing prior restraint. Dist. Ct. erred, though, in resolving issues as to whether remaining portions of ordinance could still be applied to plaintiff’s cabaret based on severability clause in ordinance, since such land-use issues are matters that should be resolved in state court, even though said matters potentially fell within Dist. Ct.‘s supplemental jurisdiction.