Eline v. Town of Ocean City, No. 20-1530 (4th Cir. 2021)
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Plaintiffs filed suit challenging Ocean City's ordinance prohibiting public nudity, which prohibits only women from publicly showing their bare breasts. Plaintiffs contend that the gender classification in the ordinance could not withstand the heightened scrutiny required by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of Ocean City's motion for summary judgment, agreeing with the district court that Ocean City has established that prohibiting females from publicly showing their bare breasts is substantially related to an important government interest—protecting public sensibilities—and satisfies the heightened scrutiny of the Equal Protection Clause. The court declined to overrule United States v. Biocic, 928 F.2d 112, 115–116 (4th Cir. 1991), which recognized that protecting the portion of society that disfavored public display of female breasts furthers an important governmental interest. In this case, the district court described the testimony from Ocean City's witnesses which indicated that many Ocean City residents and vacationers had voiced strong opposition to allowing public nudity in Ocean City. Furthermore, plaintiffs did not testify, choosing instead to rely upon an expert witness, whose opinion the district court did not find persuasive nor relevant to the issue at hand.
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