City of Littleton v. Z.J. Gifts D-4, LLC On December 12, 2003, APA joined the National League of Cities, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the International City/County Management Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Counties, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in filing an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in an adult business regulation case out of the Tenth Circuit, City of Littleton v. Z.J. Gifts D-4, LLC (No. 02-1609).
The decision from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the City of Littleton, Colorado's licensing scheme for adult businesses was flawed because it should have guaranteed a prompt judicial decision when a business contests the denial of a license. APA and the other amici argued that the First Amendment, as well as prior cases from the US Supreme Court, do not require the prompt resolution of such challenges. In 1990, the Court found that it was constitutionally sufficient that the adult business have an opportunity to initiate a court challenge prior to the cancellation of its license. FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas, 493 U.S. 215 (1990). Furthermore, the amici believe that challenges to such licensing schemes for sexually oriented businesses should be properly analyzed as time, place, and manner regulations rather than as a prior restraint. City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc., 475 U.S. 41 (1986). This case is important for local governments who have found the effective regulation of adult businesses to be essential for the prevention of crime, the preservation of property values, and the maintenance of neighborhood quality. Attorneys for the amici:
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