Delivering Weekly Censorship Updates to the Adult Entertainment Industry
Vol. X, No. 33, August 24, 2007 - A Member Service of the Free Speech Coalition Stories without byline submitted by FSC contract writer, Scott Ross
Contributing writers: Matt Gray and Dave Grimaldi
Copyright 2007 Free Speech Coalition. Permission to reprint granted to FSC members; please give credit.
Thank you for your support of FSC and our important mission. Together, we are making a difference.
Miami Officials Vote to Close Flava Works House
MIAMI, FL - In a 5-2 vote, Miami's Code Enforcement Board ruled last week that Flava Works is running an adult business illegally because it is based in an area that is zoned for residential use.
The studio has been found guilty of two violations: operating an adult business in a residential area and operating a business in a residential area. Flava Works has been instructed to stop all operations of its internet site, CocoDorm.com.
CocoDorm.com pays young men $1,200 plus room and board to live in the the Miami residence for a month and have sex with each other.
A charge that Philip Bleicher, head of Flava Works, was running an illegal rooming house was dismissed.
Bleicher's attorney, James Benjamin, argued that CocoDorm was not part of the adult business, citing Tampa's unsuccessful attempt to shutdown VoyeurDorm.com under similar circumstances. He pointed out that business transactions were not carried out at the home in question.
Benjamin intends to file an appeal, saying to The Miami Herald, "But we're not sure where we're going to file the appeal yet. We're not going to put our tail between our legs and go away. The activity is protected by the First Amendment."
Queerty.com reports that Bleicher is working on a lawsuit against the city of Miami. In a note over at the website in question, Cocodorm.com, Bleicher writes:
"With the Code Enforcement Board's ruling, starting today the city will fine us up to $500 per day for each day we remain open. We are filing an emergency motion in federal court to block the city's ruling citing VoyeurDorm.com v. City of Tampa and sue the City of Miami."
http://avn.com/index.cfm?objectID=70F9F7ED-9499-3CD3-
D0B31DC2A15B0910&articleID=6BDFC976-C4A0-1474-6A826BFD0B70F372
Adult Retailer in Violation of Zoning Ordinances, Officials Say
WILMINGTON, NC - A local adult novelty store that opened just last week may be forced to close within a month for zoning violations, according to a report in the Wilmington Star News.
Guilty Pleasures originally submitted a zoning plan to be a warehouse-only establishment, which permitted only 50-square-feet of retail space. The company's business license application had indicated that business would be conducted mainly through online or catalog sales.
When city code enforcement officials visited the store last week, they allegedly found the business had nearly 6,000 square feet of retail space.
In addition, the code enforcement officials found that two signs advertising Guilty Pleasures were in violation of city ordinances. The signs have already been removed.
The store must comply with its license requirements within 30 days, although it can appeal the matter.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/article/20070821/NEWS/708210361/1004
Two NYC Lawsuits Claim Damages from Association with Adult Content Production
NEW YORK - Two lawsuits filed in Manhattan this month appear to be founded upon the notion that merely being associated with the production of adult content is damaging to the reputation and professional future of anyone accused of such an association.
Last week, it was announced that a physical therapist named Marty Jaramillo had filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court against the upscale spa Essential Therapy, alleging that the spa's owner, Carlos Araque, had rented out his space for swingers parties and porn video shoots, damaging Jaramillo's reputation in the process.
In another lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, filmmaker Nesya Shapiro Blue is suing Amazon.com because the company's online movie database, IMDB.com, incorrectly identified her as the director of two adult films, "Fantasy in Blue" and "Dreams of Candace Heart."
The lawsuits underscore how any association with the production of adult content carries a strong negative connotation for much of American society, despite the much discussed mainstreaming of adult entertainment in recent years.
Although documents from the case have not been added to the online access system maintained by the New York court system, according to various New York-based media sources, Jaramillo is seeking $52,000 in direct damages and $500,000 in punitive damages from Essential Therapy and Araque.
According to Jaramillo's lawsuit, he originally sublet a space from Araque because Araque "represented that he was a duly licensed massage therapist, that his reputation and that of Essential was stellar," and that being associated with the spa would be good for Jaramillo's physical therapy business.
According to the lawsuit, Jaramillo soon learned that the spa was being rented out for "sex swing parties and adult pornographic photo/film shoots."
Jaramillo moved out of his space at Essential in April, according to the Post. His attorney said that Jaramillo "never would have gone into the space in the first place had he been aware of any of the shenanigans going on."
Araque and his attorney both denied the allegations, and Araque said that Jaramillo merely is trying to get out of paying penalties for breaking his lease.
"He's saying we have illegal sex parties and all this stuff, which isn't true," Araque said. "We rented [the spa] out to one movie. It had nothing to do with pornography."
In addition to the alleged swinger events, Araque was charged with a felony in connection to the incident, for giving massages without a proper license.
Sarita Kedia, an attorney for Araque, called the allegations "absolutely false" and said that Araque "runs a perfectly legitimate spa."
In the case naming Amazon.com as a defendant, Nesya Shapiro Blue claims that the inaccurate listing on IMDB.com has cost her thousands in business opportunities and has "severely tarnished" her reputation. As a result of that tarnishing, Blue is seeking $2.15 million in damages in her lawsuit.
"Fantasy in Blue" and "Dreams of Candace Heart," both 1991 titles, were directed by another woman surnamed Blue - adult director Nancy Blue. Nesya Blue, on the other hand, once worked on a documentary entitled "Against Pornography," as well as the children's movie "Toby the Tug."
http://xbiz.com/news/83313
Feds Pay $80,000 Over Anti-Bush T-Shirts
CHARLESTON, W. Va - The federal government agreed last week to pay $80,000 to a Texas couple arrested for wearing T-shirts with anti-Bush slogans at a 2004 political event in Charleston.
Jeff and Nicole Rank attended President George Bush's Fourth of July rally at the state Capitol, where Bush gave a speech. The couple wearing homemade T-shirts with a red circle with a bar through it over the word "Bush." On the back, hers read "Love America, Hate Bush" and his read "Regime Change Starts At Home."
The Ranks were asked to remove their shirts or leave by event staff, but refused to comply. "We tried to explain to them that it was well within our right to stand there and wear these T-shirts, just as people around us had the right to wear pro-Bush and Cheney T-shirts," Jeff Rank told the Charleston Gazette.
When it became clear that they were going to be ejected, they sat down and made the officers handcuff them, Rank said, because they wanted it clear that they were being involuntarily removed.
They were arrested and charged with trespassing, though those charges were later dropped by the city of Charleston. City officials later apologized for the arrest.
According to the Gazette, the Ranks were in West Virginia in 2004 because Nicole Rank was working there as an environmental liaison officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In addition to the trespassing charges, Nicole Rank lost her job at FEMA. "I was told that my actions had compromised FEMA's mission in West Virginia and I was being relieved from duty," she told the Gazette.
A White House spokesperson said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing.
http://wvgazette.com/section/News/2007081628?pt=0
How Ideas Become Laws
By Matt Gray
I was six years old when I was introduced to the process of making laws. A young boy in the next grade was most unfortunately run over by a garbage truck that was in the process of backing up, but didn't see the youth.
That tragedy hit the news and soon legislation was introduced (and passed), to require backup alarms to be equipped on all garbage trucks. Whether the proposed laws come in response to harming a child, a copycat Los Angeles bank robbery mirroring the movie "Heat" (Michael Mann, Warner Home Videos, 1995), some swindler, or other newsworthy event, the common underlying thread of motivation is responding to a need through reactive legislation.
But there are plenty of ideas which don't involve tragic events, often ending up becoming new laws. How and why is worth exploring, since, regardless of whether it involves local, state, or federal government, the process is more or less the same.
With some variation from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, local governments typically create laws known as ordinances. State agencies create regulations. Legislatures create laws. And, the people create initiatives for the ballot.
The most basic summary of the lawmaking process is that someone has an idea, and then takes action to plug that idea into whatever established process there is, which in turn either leads to making a new rule, or changes an existing one. It is often useful to look at the existing law you want to change, and then to look at other jurisdictions to see how they handle the same problem or deficiency.
For example, as a business professional you work hard to comply with all laws and even take extra precautions to make sure only the right people come to work for you. However, despite all of this goodwill and hard work, there are still some unscrupulous individuals who use fake documentation as a means of tricking their way into your business.
Whether for money or fame, their motivations vary. But in the end, their selfish and reckless behavior may cost you personally and professionally - even though you did absolutely everything you could to in good faith prevent such an event. Sometimes the crook just gets lucky.
So it becomes clear to you that existing law just doesn't do enough to protect you from these individuals, and these individuals from themselves. Your next step would be to write a summary of the problem and a proposed solution, as well as other supporting information such as anticipated support or opposition groups. Then you would begin to shop that proposal around to your elected officials to see if they will consider introducing that idea as part of their legislative package.
If it seems overly simplified, then you are right. But it does provide an overview of the process.
Additional obstacles come in the form of legislative restrictions for elected officials - where they are limited on the number of pieces of legislation they can introduce. Of course, this means you are now in competition with tens of thousands of other special interests who believe their legislative proposal is every bit as deserving as yours.
As a result, your plea must be both compelling, concise, and clear - and it doesn't hurt to have long ago established a relationship with the elected official to help you stand out from the crowd. This is why such events as the annual Free Speech Lobbying Days, and involvement in campaigns is so important.
This is why it is so important for FSC to maintain a lobbying presence in California (where a large percentage of the adult entertainment industry operates) and at the Federal level. Often, it's less about what we do in the moment around a specific bill that leads to positive results. More often, it's about having relationships in place in order to be heard when specific, damaging legislation is introduced, as we rally support for our cause through those ongoing relationships.
