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Dreamland Ballroom and Social Dance Club6/20/2001
"The Strip" is a club that provides entertainment to adults consisting of stage performances and lap dances, all done by nude women. It does not serve alcoholic beverages. Since 1984 the Strip has been designated as a private club on its occupational license issued by the City of Fort Lauderdale. In 1998, the club's owner was arrested for violating the state statute declaring it unlawful for any person to own or operate a place for the purpose of providing prostitution, assignation, or lewdness. Its dancers were also arrested for violating the statute making it unlawful for any person to offer, commit, or engage in prostitution, assignation, or lewdness. Police officers testified that, while they were undercover and in the club, dancers solicited each of them for sex. No convictions resulted from these arrests.
The owner of the club, along with one of its dancers and a member, filed an action in the circuit court seeking an injunction against enforcement of the statutes in question. Plaintiffs argued that because the club is private section 796.07 is unconstitutional as applied to it.
They also sought a declaratory judgment that section 796.07 is facially unconstitutional because it imposes strict liability on the club's owner without any scienter requirement. After a trial, the court found that the club is not private and denied all relief. This appeal followed.
Claimants first argue that section 796.07 is unconstitutional as applied to the club because the trial court erred in finding that it is not really a "private" club and the City's enforcement of the statute therefore violates their rights under the First Amendment. They emphasize the following evidence as supporting their contention of error:
1.1 The articles of incorporation designate the club as private.
1.2 The club has been licenced by the City as a private club for the last 15 years.
1.3 Temporary members of the club, members for only one night, pay a membership fee of $10 to enter the club and must sign a membership form.
1.4 The club has "charter" members who pay $100 for a one-year membership, whose membership entitles them to enter the club at any time without having to read the membership rules.
1.5 Since July 1999 the club announces nightly that it is private.
1.6 There was testimony that the club's "doormen" were actually seen to turn patrons away at the door, that persons who refuse to sign the membership rules are denied admission, and that recently the club has begun keeping records of people rejected from club membership.
1.7 The club advertises that it is private, and its signs state that it is private.
1.8 The club maintains a roster of all members.
In concluding that the club was not actually a private club, the trial court made the following factual findings.
1. The club was initially designated as public in its incorporation papers, and the articles were amended to state that it is private only because the building did not have adequate parking for a club open to the public.
2. The fee of $10 that a patron pays for joining as a "temporary member" for the night is "nothing more than a cover charge."
3. Membership in the club is not limited in any meaningful way; nor is there a structured membership committee.
4. There are no standards for admission to membership, and there is no formal admission procedure.
5. Members do not control the operation of the club in anyway.
1. Members derive no share in the proceeds of money paid for lap dances or VIP room time. Members receive no benefi
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