Erotic Service Provider Legal Education and Research Project v. Gascon, No. 16-15927 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseSection 647(b) of the California Penal Code, which criminalizes the commercial exchange of sexual activity, does not violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of ESP's action under 42 U.S.C. 1983, challenging the constitutionality of Section 647(b). In light of IDK, Inc. v. Clark Cnty., 836 F.2d 1185, 1193 (9th Cir. 1998), rather than Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 562 (2003), the panel held that laws invalidating prostitution may be justified by rational basis review. The panel held that Section 647(b) is rationally related to several important governmental interests, any of which support a finding of no constitutional violation under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; Section 647(b) does not violate the freedom of intimate or expressive association; and Section 647(b) does not violate the right to earn a living. The panel also held that Section 647(b) does not violate the First Amendment freedom of speech because prostitution did not constitute protected commercial speech and therefore did not warrant such protection.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal of an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 challenging Section 647(b) of the California Penal Code, which criminalizes the commercial exchange of sexual activity. The panel first rejected plaintiffs’ assertion that Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 562 (2003) created a liberty interest that prohibits a state from criminalizing prostitution. Applying IDK, Inc. v. Clark Cnty., 836 F.2d
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on February 2, 2018.
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