SALEM, OR – In a move that reaffirms the state of Oregon’s reputation for self-determination and a firm respect for free speech and expression, the Oregon Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeals decision that, among other things, had affirmed a four-foot distance limitation between exotic dancers and patrons while declaring nude dancing to be devoid of constitutional protections for free expression.In State v. Ciancanelli, a firm six to one majority reversed the lower court’s ruling from Nyssa v. Dufloth, and proclaimed such restrictions to be unconstitutional. Although the Court of Appeals had professed a belief that some exceptions to free expression guarantees may exist if certain legal factors were in place during the writing of the state constitution, the higher court disagreed. Had the appeals court’s view been correct, all forms of public nudity would not be exempt from protection because they were illegal during the 19th century.
According to the state Supreme Court in its first ever ruling on the issue, such justifications are unacceptable when criminal inhibitions were “directed exclusively at protecting the hearer or the viewer from a disfavoring message.” Instead, the state has increasingly taken the view that freedom of expression is nearly absolute and, in 1987, it ruled that there are no exceptions other than those prohibiting child pornography in the Oregon Constitution that would permit restriction, including those related to obscenity.
Further, the court determined that live sex shows featuring performers explicitly using sex toys are protected as well, so long as the performers do not interact intimately with one another while doing so.
While the decision will have a huge impact on Oregon’s popular lingerie modeling salons, its importance is even wider ranging.
“I think the court spent more energy and, for the first time in a long time, put some meat on the bones and explained what the factors are when the court looks at a matter and says that a former precedent is wrong and should be examined and overruled,” explained Portland attorney Brad Woodworth who, along with Lake Perriguey, authored briefs on behalf of industry amici.
Although American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon legislative director and counsel, Andrea Meyer insists that the decision allows “Oregon families to decide for themselves what they want to read, see, and hear,” attorneys in favor of the lower court decision insist that the previous ruling merely regulated location, timing, and manner of expression while protecting the safety, health, and welfare of citizens. Religious groups and those opposed to sex work have long complained that Oregon’s greater free expression protections have made the state a haven for the sex industry.
