Handbill order restrained

Jeff Schweers

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Opponents of Clark County's "Disneyization" said they've won a victory for the rights of people to pass out adult-oriented handbills on the Strip.

On Tuesday, they won a limited order restricting Clark County from enforcing its new code banning handbill distribution pending a preliminary injunction hearing next week.

"This is a great victory," Michael Stuhff, attorney for Richard Sorrano and SOC Inc., said after Tuesday's ruling. "We have a judge who is interested in the case, who cares very much about the First Amendment."

U.S. District Judge Lloyd George granted the temporary restraining order the same day the county code was to take effect. The order allows Metro Police to issue citations for passing out handbills, but prohibits officers from making arrests and hotel security guards from taking any action.

"I don't want to create a lot of controversy on this," George said, setting a Feb. 13 hearing date for attorneys for both sides to present evidence supporting their arguments.

George admonished the resort industry attorneys to stick to the legal issues of the case at next week's hearing.

Attorneys for the gaming industry seemed optimistic, giving each other the thumbs up as they rode down the elevator after the hearing. Todd Bice of the Nevada Resort Association said he wants to be able to cross-examine witnesses brought forward by the handbill distributors.

"We obviously hoped there was no TRO, but the judge recognized that we can still be able to cite," Deputy District Attorney Bob Gowan said.

The new code was approved Jan. 21 by the County Commission, which has spent years trying to ban people from passing out adult-oriented handbills only to be blocked by constitutional challenges.

The ordinance is based on a Key West, Fla., law that bans handbill hawkers in the city's tourist district. The law was designed to cut down on litter, congestion and noise without being content-specific, one of the major tests use to determine if a law encroaches on First Amendment rights.

The 22-page brief requesting the restraining order several times said the County Commission's attempts to eliminate "smut peddlers" coincides with the "Disneyization" of the Strip.

Lawyers for escort and outcall services argued that the new law was content-specific because it banned commercial literature only. They also said the county's well-documented animosity toward so-called "smut peddlers" shows the intent of the code is to restrict one group of handbillers only.

As written, the code would also apply to tour promoters, rock promoters and striking union members at the Frontier hotel-casino, the attorneys said, raising concerns about the language being overbroad and restricting free speech.

Lawyers for the gaming industry argued that there was no proof of irreparable injury or the destruction of escort services if the code stands.

"This is focusing on all commercial enterprises," Gower said.

Paul Larsen, an attorney for the Nevada Resort Association, said the law was designed to protect the public from the debris and violence associated with handbill distribution -- a significant government interest.

Attorneys for the handbillers said there are littering and harassment laws already on the books that if properly enforced would clean up the problems the gaming attorneys said the law targets.

Larsen also said there is no First Amendment limitation since alternative means of distribution are available -- through newsstands and Yellow Pages ads. Other attorneys argued that the code is restricted to the area where the handbill distributors have been a nuisance.

George said he understands the importance of the First Amendment, but this case deals with the balance between free speech and the government's interest in public welfare.

"Anybody who characterizes this as a First Amendment case only doesn't understand the case," George said.