Santa Ana : Nude Club’s Request to Stop Raids Denied

The city of Santa Ana won a court victory Wednesday against Paddy Murphy’s, a nude dancing establishment that sought a preliminary injunction to stop police from raiding the club and arresting its dancers on charges of lewd conduct.

Paddy Murphy’s filed a lawsuit earlier this month, alleging that the arrests of the dancers infringed on their First Amendment protections and created a chilling effect at the club.

Many dancers have quit and others refuse to dance on Friday nights, when the police raids have occurred, the lawsuit alleged.

“Our argument is that anything you do on that stage cannot be lewd conduct, because it’s entertainment,” said Marc Lebovitz, the attorney for Paddy Murphy’s. “Lewd conduct is the guy in a park who exposes himself to a Girl Scout. Entertainers, performing on a stage, dancing, can never be lewd conduct.”

Superior Court Judge David H. Brickner, however, disagreed that the arrests violated the women’s First Amendment rights and denied the request for an injunction. A trial date is set for Dec. 12, Lebovitz said.

The city has argued that the nude dancing establishment should not be considered a “theater,” where nudity would be protected as free speech.

Assistant City Atty. Bob Wheeler commended the ruling.

“It’s a very important victory for the city. We are very gratified by the judge’s decision,” Wheeler said.