Federal Circuits, 10th Cir. (December 23, 1983)
Docket number: 80-2093
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U.S. Supreme Court - Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U.S. 223 (1978)
U.S. Supreme Court - Hynes v. Mayor and Council of Oradell, 425 U.S. 610 (1976)
U.S. Supreme Court - New Orleans v. Dukes, 427 U.S. 297 <I>(per curiam)</I> (1976)
U.S. Supreme Court - Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
U.S. Supreme Court - Ludwig v. Massachusetts, 427 U.S. 618 (1976)
U.S. Supreme Court - Virginia v. American Booksellers Assn., Inc., 484 U.S. 383 (1988)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Cir. - Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, ('Acorn') Kurt Roscow, Melissa Neumiller, Charles Murawski, and Sally Worland, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Municipality of Golden, Colorado, and Golden Police Department, Defendants-Appellees., 744 F.2d 739 (10th Cir. 1984) ('Acorn') Kurt Roscow, Melissa Neumiller, Charles Murawski, and Sally Worland, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Municipality of Golden, Colorado, and Golden Police Department, Defendants-Appellees.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Cir. - Carlin Communications, Inc., Sapphire of Arizona, Inc., Joy Communications of California Inc., Lynx Communications of California Inc., Sable Communications of California Inc., Sapphire of Colorado Inc., Sapphire Communications of Florida, Inc., Sapphire Communications of Georgia Inc., Sapphire of Iowa, Inc., Sapphire Communications of Kentucky Inc., Sapphire of Louisiana Inc., Joy Communications of Maryland Inc., Sapphire Communications of Maryland Inc., Joy Communications of Michigan Inc., Sapphire of Michigan Inc., Sapphire of Minnesota Inc., Sapphire of Nebraska Inc., Sapphire of Nevada Inc., Sapphire of Oregon Inc., Joy Communications of Pennsylvania Inc., Sapphire Communications of Pennsylvania Inc., Sapphire Communications of Texas Inc., Sapphire of Virginia Inc., Sapphire of Washington Inc., and Sapphire of Washington D.C. Inc., Petitioners, v. Federal Communications Commission and the United States of America, Respondents, Ameritech Operating Companies, American Telephone and Telegraph Co., Bell..., 837 F.2d 546 (2nd Cir. 1988) Inc., Sapphire of Arizona, Inc., Joy Communications of California Inc., Lynx Communications of California Inc., Sable Communications of California Inc., Sapphire of Colorado Inc., Sapphire Communications of Florida, Inc., Sapphire Communications of Georgia Inc., Sapphire of Iowa, Inc., Sapphire Communications of Kentucky Inc., Sapphire of Louisiana Inc., Joy Communications of Maryland Inc., Sapphire Communications of Maryland Inc., Joy Communications of Michigan Inc., Sapphire of Michigan Inc., Sapphire of Minnesota Inc., Sapphire of Nebraska Inc., Sapphire of Nevada Inc., Sapphire of Oregon Inc., Joy Communications of Pennsylvania Inc., Sapphire Communications of Pennsylvania Inc., Sapphire Communications of Texas Inc., Sapphire of Virginia Inc., Sapphire of Washington Inc., and Sapphire of Washington D.C. Inc., Petitioners, v. Federal Communications Commission and the United States of America, Respondents, Ameritech Operating Companies, American Telephone and Telegraph Co., Bell...
Robert C. Brown of Smith, Shay, Farmer & Wetta, Wichita, Kan. (Jack Focht, Wichita, Kan., was also on brief), for plaintiff-appellant.
Stanley A. Issinghoff, Wichita, Kan. (Thomas R. Powell, Wichita, Kan., was also on brief), for defendants-appellees.Robert T. Stephan, Atty. Gen. of Kan., and Thomas D. Haney, Deputy Atty. Gen. of Kan., Topeka, Kan., filed a brief for the State of Kan. as amicus curiae in support of defendants-appellees.Before SETH, Chief Judge, and HOLLOWAY and McWILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.HOLLOWAY, Circuit Judge.Plaintiff M.S. News Company (News), is a wholesale and retail distributor of periodicals and publications in Wichita, Kansas.1 It appeals from dismissal of its action for injunctive and declaratory relief against enforcement of a portion of a Wichita ordinance. The ordinance, Number 36-172, amended sections 5.68.150 and 5.68.155 of the Code of the City of Wichita and created 5.68.156. This section prohibits the promotion of sexually oriented materials to minors. It is the sole portion of the ordinance at issue in this action, and it is reproduced as an appendix to this opinion.The Wichita ordinance is designed to prevent minors from being exposed to sexually oriented materials that are harmful to them. The ordinance defines "harmful to minors" and makes it an offense to display such material to minors if, as a part of the invited general public, they will be exposed to it. It further proscribes, inter alia, selling, furnishing or presenting to minors any material or performance that is harmful to them.The controlling facts are not in dispute. By early August 1979, plaintiff News became aware of the impending passage of the subject ordinance. On August 20, News brought this action against all members of the Board of Commissioners, the Chief of Police, and the City Attorney of Wichita. It sought a declaratory judgment that Section 5.68.156 "is unconstitutional on its face and as applied," and injunctive relief restraining the defendants from enforcing the section. The district judge promptly issued a temporary restraining order.Defendants filed a motion to dismiss with a supporting brief claiming, inter alia, that the complaint failed to state a cause of action. News then filed a reply brief contesting the motion. The district court held a hearing to consider plaintiff's request for a permanent injunction and the defendants' motion to dismiss, heard argument, and took the matter under advisement. The judge shortly thereafter dissolved the temporary restraining order, denied the request for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and granted defendant's motion to dismiss. Plaintiff appeals.Plaintiff makes four main arguments on appeal, contending that the ordinance: (1) goes beyond the permissible scope of Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629, 88 S.Ct. 1274, 20 L.Ed.2d 195 (1968), and is overbroad and vague both on its face and as applied;2 (2) violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; (3) creates a prior restraint in violation of the First Amendment; and (4) deprives defendants of their Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. We will consider each of these contentions in turn.3* FACIAL OVERBREADTH AND VAGUENESSPlaintiff News challenges the ordinance for overbreadth and vagueness. It essentially says that the realistic effect of the ordinance will be to limit, by its overbroad application, the access of adults, and minors approaching adulthood, to constitutionally permissible material. News further argues that the ordinance is vague in that it neither affords fair warning to those within its reach, nor provides explicit standards for those who enforce it. Brief of Appellant at 17.Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629, 88 S.Ct. 1274, 20 L.Ed.2d 195 (1968), rejected a vagueness challenge to a New York statute similar to the Wichita ordinance. The Supreme Court there held that it is constitutional to proscribe the sale of "girlie magazines" to minors, where the magazines contained defined forms of sexually oriented material, even though such material was not obscene for adults. The Wichita ordinance at issue is almost identical to the statute upheld in Ginsberg. Ginsberg, supra, 390 U.S. at 645-47, 88 S.Ct. at 1283-84. Plaintiff attempts to distinguish Ginsberg by pointing out differences between the two laws.There are two principal differences between the Wichita ordinance and the statute in Ginsberg that are relevant to the constitutionality of the Wichita ordinance on its face. First, the Wichita ordinance uses the Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 93 S.Ct. 2607, 37 L.Ed.2d 419 (1973), obscenity test,4 and second, it proscribes not just the dissemination of material harmful to minors, as Ginsberg did, but also the display of such material.5 We find no constitutional infirmity in the ordinance resulting from either of these changes, or in any of the prohibitions of display, sale or presentation of proscribed materials to minors.A. Application of the Miller testWe are unable to discern any substance to plaintiff's argument that replacing the Memoirs test with the Miller test creates either an overbreadth or vagueness problem. The ordinance in Ginsberg prohibited distribution to minors of material that was "harmful to minors." In defining "harmful to minors," the Memoirs obscenity test was adapted so that material could not be distributed to minors if it: (1) appealed to the prurient interest of minors; (2) was patently offensive to what the adult community believed was suitable for minors; and (3) was utterly without social importance for minors. Ginsberg, supra, 390 U.S. at 646, 88 S.Ct. at 1284. The Wichita ordinance is virtually identical to that upheld in Ginsberg except that the Miller obscenity test is used rather than the Memoirs test. Although the ordinance alters the Miller test so that it can be used for determining what material is harmful to minors, this is precisely what the ordinance in Ginsberg did with the old Memoirs test. We reject the argument that the use of the Miller test rendered the ordinance overbroad or vague.6B. The prohibitions of the ordinance protecting minorsThe Wichita ordinance prohibits (a) displaying material "harmful to minors," (b) selling, furnishing or presenting such material to minors; and (c) presenting to a minor any "performance" harmful to him. We feel that Ginsberg has already upheld all such prohibitions except that of display. We therefore focus on the overbreadth and vagueness challenges to the display prohibition.The ordinance prohibits displaying materials harmful to minors when minors "as a part of the invited general public, will be exposed to view such material." The ordinance provides that such material is not displayed if it is "kept behind devices commonly known as 'blinder racks' so that the lower two-thirds of the material is not exposed to view." We believe this provision is neither vague nor overbroad.Although First Amendment challenges to legislation under the overbreadth and vagueness doctrines are related,7 they are distinct. The vagueness doctrine is anchored in the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments,8 and protects against legislation lacking sufficient clarity of purpose and precision in drafting. See Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, supra, 422 U.S. at 217-18, 95 S.Ct. at 2276-77; Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 108-14 & n. 5, 92 S.Ct. 2294, 2298-302 & n. 5, 33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972). Overbroad legislation need not be vague, indeed it may be too clear; its constitutional infirmity is that it sweeps protected activity within its proscription. See Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, supra, 422 U.S. at 212-13, 95 S.Ct. at 2274-75; Grayned v. City of Rockford, supra, 408 U.S. at 114, 92 S.Ct. at 2302. We consider the overbreadth and vagueness issues separately.91. OverbreadthAs noted, plaintiff News argues that the Wichita ordinance is overbroad, restricting the access of adults and minors approaching adulthood to constitutionally permissible publications. Brief of Appellant at 17. News says that as commercial enterprises seek to avoid violating the ordinance, the natural tendency will be to limit materials available for view by anyone. Id. at 13.We disagree. First, as noted, with respect to the sale or distribution of materials "harmful to minors," the ordinance has a clear and acceptable standard that will permit sale or distribution to adults of such materials. Second, the portion of the ordinance dealing with display of material "harmful to minors" is reasonably structured. It is true that compliance with the ordinance will to some degree restrict the viewing by adults of materials which are, as to adults, constitutionally protected. However, the restriction is reasonable and does not offend the First Amendment.Reasonable time, place and manner regulations are permissible where the regulations are necessary to further significant governmental interests, Young v. American Mini Theatres, 427 U.S. 50, 63 & n. 18, 96 S.Ct. 2440, 2448 & n. 18, 49 L.Ed.2d 310 (1976) (plurality), and are narrowly tailored to further the State's legitimate interest. Grayned v. City of Rockford, supra, 408 U.S. at 116-17, 92 S.Ct. at 2303-04.10 We find Young, supra, instructive. In Young the plurality held that Detroit zoning ordinances providing that an adult theatre may not be located within 1000 feet of any two other adult theatres (or other "regulated uses") or within 500 feet of a residential area, was consistent with the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The plurality recognized that this was content-based regulation but upheld it because the city had a sufficient interest in preserving the quality of urban life and the ordinance did not suppress or greatly restrict access to lawful speech. Young, supra, 427 U.S. at 63-72 & n. 35, 96 S.Ct. at 2448-53 & n. 35 (plurality). Similarly the display provision of the Wichita ordinance is a regulation based on content. We believe that it is likewise justified by the substantial governmental interest in protecting minors from exposure to harmful adult material.11 See supra note 5.Moreover, the proscription on display of material harmful to minors does not unreasonably restrict adults' access to material which is not obscene as to them.12 The ordinance permits the "display" of material harmful to minors if it is in blinder racks which conceal the lower two-thirds of the material. Thus, adults may still have some access to materials not obscene as to them, and they may purchase such material.In considering News's claim of overbreadth,13 we must remember that invalidating legislation as overbroad on its face is "manifestly strong medicine" and is employed sparingly and "only as a last resort." New York v. Ferber, --- U.S. ----, ----, 102 S.Ct. 3348, 73 L.Ed.2d 1113 (1982); Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 613, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 2916, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973). In Ferber, the court implied that when conduct plus speech is involved, the overbreadth " 'must not only be real, but substantial as well, judged in relation to the statute's plainly legitimate sweep.' " New York v. Ferber, supra, --- U.S. at ----, 102 S.Ct. at 3362 (quoting Broadrick v. Oklahoma, supra, 413 U.S. at 615, 93 S.Ct. at 2917). Moreover, legislation should not be held facially overbroad unless it is not readily subject to a narrowing construction, and the deterrent effect on speech is real and substantial. Young v. American Mini Theatres, supra, 427 U.S. at 60, 96 S.Ct. at 2447; Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, supra, 422 U.S. at 216, 95 S.Ct. at 2276.14The portion of the Wichita ordinance proscribing display to minors is conduct plus speech because it regulates the manner in which material with a particular content can be disseminated; it does not regulate pure speech itself. Thus, there must be substantial overbreadth for the ordinance to be held overbroad on its face. We find no such infirmity. As noted, the display portion of the ordinance does not restrict minors' access to materials which they have a constitutional right to obtain. See Ginsberg, supra, 390 U.S. at 634-43, 88 S.Ct. at 1277-82. The ordinance only prohibits displaying material "harmful to minors," and this term is defined to include only material that is obscene as to minors under the Miller test as adapted to evaluate whether material is harmful to minors. Although minors are entitled to a significant measure of First Amendment protection, Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, supra, 422 U.S. at 212-13, 95 S.Ct. at 2274-75; Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 U.S. 503, 89 S.Ct. 733, 21 L.Ed.2d 731 (1969), a narrowly drawn ordinance restricting their access to sexually oriented material does not abridge their First Amendment rights. See Ginsberg, supra, 390 U.S. at 634-43, 88 S.Ct. at 1277-82.We therefore hold that the display provision of the ordinance is not overbroad on its face.2. VaguenessIf a law threatens to inhibit First Amendment freedoms a more stringent vagueness test is used. See Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., supra, 455 U.S. at 499, 102 S.Ct. at 1193; Hynes v. Mayor of Oradell, 425 U.S. 610, 620, 96 S.Ct. 1755, 1760, 48 L.Ed.2d 243 (1976). In the First Amendment area vague laws offend three important values. First, they do not give individuals fair warning of what is prohibited. Second, lack of precise standards permits arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Finally, vague statutes encroach upon First Amendment freedoms by causing citizens to forsake activity protected by the First Amendment for fear it may be prohibited.15 Grayned v. City of Rockford, supra, 408 U.S. at 108-09, 92 S.Ct. at 2298-99; see Hynes v. Mayor of Oradell, supra, 425 U.S. at 620-22, 96 S.Ct. at 1760-61; see also General Stores, Inc. v. Bingaman, 695 F.2d 502, 503 (10th Cir.1982). Hejira Corp. v. MacFarlane, 660 F.2d 1356, 1365 (10th Cir.1981).We find no vagueness defect in the Wichita ordinance. First, the ordinance provides fair warning of what is prohibited. It plainly prohibits displaying material harmful to minors in a manner so that minors will be exposed to it. Although it is not "an answer to an argument that a particular regulation of expression is vague to say that it was adopted for the salutary purpose of protecting children," Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. Dallas, 390 U.S. 676, 689, 88 S.Ct. 1298, 1306, 20 L.Ed.2d 225 (1968), " '... the Constitution does not require impossible standards'; all that is required is that the language 'conveys sufficiently definite warning as to the proscribed conduct when measured by common understanding and practices ....' " Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 491, 77 S.Ct. 1304, 1312, 1 L.Ed.2d 1498 (1957) (quoting United States v. Petrillo, 332 U.S. 1, 7-8, 67 S.Ct. 1538, 1541-42, (1947)). We believe that the ordinance does this. The obscenity standard as to minors is clearly defined. Common understanding and practices provide commercial establishments with sufficient notice of the type of display the ordinance is designed to prohibit. See Broadrick v. Oklahoma, supra, 413 U.S. at 608, 93 S.Ct. at 2913; Miller, supra, 413 U.S. at 27, 93 S.Ct. at 2616.Furthermore, whatever imprecision is present is mitigated by the ordinance's scienter provision. See Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., supra, 455 U.S. at 499, 102 S.Ct. at 1193 ("[S]cienter requirement may mitigate a law's vagueness, especially with respect to the adequacy of notice to the complainant that his conduct is proscribed.") (footnote omitted). The ordinance defines knowingly in terms almost identical to the definition approved in Ginsberg. See Ginsberg, supra, 390 U.S. at 646, 88 S.Ct. at 1284. In addition to the degree of scienter that the Constitution requires be shown to obtain a conviction for violating obscenity laws,16 the Wichita ordinance, as Ginsberg did, makes it an excuse from liability if one makes an honest mistake as to a minor's age.17Second, we do not perceive any real danger of arbitrary enforcement. To violate the ordinance, one must display material which, taken as a whole, must fail the Miller test as applied to minors. This sufficiently constrains the discretion of the authorities. The ordinance adopts the correct standard for evaluating whether material is harmful to minors and we will not assume that the authorities will act in bad faith.Third, we are not persuaded that the ordinance will lead citizens to forsake activity protected by the First Amendment. The ordinance is narrowly drawn within the confines of the Miller and Ginsberg standards. It provides fair warning of what is prohibited, and sufficiently constrains the discretion of the authorities. In such circumstances we do not believe it chills the exercise of First Amendment rights.In sum, we are not persuaded to hold the Wichita ordinance invalid for vagueness.IIEQUAL PROTECTIONThe Wichita ordinance provides that it is an affirmative defense if the material or performance was "displayed, presented or disseminated to a minor at a recognized and established school, church, museum, medical clinic, hospital, public library, governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency and [if this was done] for a bona fide governmental, educational or scientific purpose." Plaintiff News argues that the ordinance is violative of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because only commercial establishments are subject to its sanctions.We disagree. The ordinance creates a classification that distinguishes between commercial enterprises and non-commercial enterprises. Such classifications are upheld if they are rationally related to a legitimate state interest. See New Orleans v. Dukes, 427 U.S. 297, 303, 96 S.Ct. 2513, 2516, 49 L.Ed.2d 511 (1976) (per curiam); Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp., 426 U.S. 794, 810-14, 96 S.Ct. 2488, 2498-500, 49 L.Ed.2d 220 (1976); Hart Book Stores, Inc. v. Edminsten, 612 F.2d 821, 831 (4th Cir.1979), cert. denied,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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