Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc., 535 U.S. 425 (2002)
Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc.
Does a municipal zoning ordinance that prohibits multiple adult entertainment businesses from operating within the same building violate the First Amendment rights of those businesses?
Municipalities may regulate the location of adult businesses if they can demonstrate that such regulations are designed to serve a substantial government interest and do not unreasonably limit alternative avenues of communication.
The Supreme Court held that the City of Los Angeles's ordinance did not necessarily violate the First Amendment. The city's evidence regarding the link between multiple adult businesses in one location and higher crime rates was deemed sufficient to justify the ordinance under intermediate scrutiny.
This case is significant for law students as it elucidates the application of intermediate scrutiny to regulations infringing upon First Amendment rights in the context of adult entertainment businesses. It also serves as a precedent for understanding how the government can substantively support its regulatory measures through studies or empirical data, even if those data establish only a weak correlation to the targeted adverse effects.