May a city require adult bookstores but not other establishments to close between midnight and 10am every night and all day Sunday?
In Annex Books v. City of Indianapolis, No. 13-1500 (Jan. 24, 2014), the Seventh Circuit said no. It struck down the City of Indianapolis’s requirement, which a district court had previously upheld. Although the City claimed that the restriction would lead to fewer armed robberies at or near the bookstores, the court held that “cities must protect readers from robbers rather than reduce risks by closing bookstores.” In the court’s view, “[t]hat the City’s regulation takes the form of closure is the nub of the problem.”
First, the court found that the evidence supporting the City’s justification is “weak as a statistical matter”: the data “do not show that robberies are more likely at adult bookstores than at other late-night retail outlets.”
Second, the court noted that although Continue reading