One argument being made in the State Supreme Court consideration of strip club regulations made by the legislature last year claims the regulations infringe on First Amendment rights. But the lawyer making the argument believes it could be an issue never addressed. Attorney Richard Bryant argues the state legislature cannot ban full nudity at strip clubs or require dancers to stay 10 feet away from customers or keep 18-to-20 year olds from visiting or working there. Yet Bryant says his argument likely isn’t the winning argument in the case. Bryant insists the argument made by his colleague that the bill violates the state constitution, because it combines unrelated subjects, tacking strip club regulations onto a drunk driving bill, is the most persuasive and easiest to address. Bryant suggests the State Supreme Court might focus on the state claim, leaving the larger federal challenge alone so it can avoid a more controversial subject. Bryant says the law violates the free expression rights of dancers, protected by the First Amendment.
