WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Southern Indiana judge hears case against Theatair X

Southern Indiana judge hears case against Theatair X

By Carrie Weil - bio | email  
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – Tuesday, Clarksville's case against Theatair X finally made it to court. In Salem, Indiana, Judge Roger Bennett agreed to hear the case after several Clark County judges turned it down. The town of Clarksville issued one ordinance violation against the store more than a year ago and four more were handed down after a WAVE 3 investigation in May uncovered illegal activities going on inside the business.

In front of an audience of about 30 southern Indiana residents, courtroom arguments Tuesday centered on legal precedence and First Amendment rights. The specific violations against Theatair X were hardly mentioned. Louis Sirkin, a Cincinnati-based attorney for Theatair X, asked Judge Bennett to dismiss the case for two reasons: Clarksville's ordinance infringes on Theatair X's and its customers First Amendment rights and the fact the adult business ordinance was not enacted properly.

Chris Sturgeon, the Clarksville Town Attorney, concedes the latter point. He admits the town's council overstepped its authority in the way it enacted the zoning portion of the law. But Sturgeon stands behind the rest of it and says case law supports the ordinance and restrictions on Theatair X.

The violations Theatair X is facing are for staying open past 1 a.m., not having a clear line of sight from the manager's station to all areas of the store, having doors on peep booths and holes in the walls between them.

During the arguments, Judge Bennett asked repeatedly about two other pending Indiana cases dealing with the operations of adult businesses in Indianapolis and New Albany. In September, the U.S. Supreme Court sent both cases back to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for a rehearing. While Judge Bennett seemed content to hold off on a ruling until those cases are resolved, Sturgeon pushed the judge to make a decision now. Sturgeon pointed out that the cases in question deal mainly with stores that sell only books and DVD's and do not operate live entertainment areas as Theatair X does. The judge agreed to do so.

Sirkin believes the cases are relevant and the move could backfire. "I think it doesn't make sense to have him (Judge Bennett) rule before the 7th Circuit really rules. All it's doing is if he rules contrary to us - it's inviting an appeal and all it does is cost taxpayers money."

ROCK (Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana) paid for a bus trip to take supporters to the hearing. With the case in the judge's hands, they boarded the bus home to Clarksville hopeful for change.

"It's difficult to have the human impact come across. I hope we don't lose sight of that in all this high-minded and high-brow conversation. These are people who are really hurting. These are families who are being destroyed," said David Decker.

ROCK's President, Bryan Wickens, who has pushed Clarksville to take action, is satisfied with today's arguments. "Today we saw them stand up and defend their ordinance. We saw them strongly defend their argument and we have to sit back and hope those arguments win out, the citizens win out, and the community wins out."

It will likely be several weeks before Judge Bennett issues his ruling.

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