The voter-approved Los Angeles County initiative requiring adult movie actors to use condoms has been upheld by a federal appeals court.
The law, known as Measure B, created a permit scheme for the industry and required use of condoms in some situations. The adult movie industry asked the trial court to enjoin enforcement of the condom requirements, arguing it restrained free expression in violation of the First Amendment. The trial court refused.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld the refusal to block the condom requirement.
The trial court did invalidate a portion of Measure B, which allowed suspension and revocation of permits, authorized warrantless administrative searches and allowed discretion in fee-setting. But those invalid portions could be severed from the other remaining parts of the law, according to the court.
The mandate for condom use survived because it had only a limited effect of free expression and was narrowly tailored to allow the government to reduce the rate of sexually transmitted infections, according to the court.
The court also upheld Measure B’s requirement that adult film producers complete training about blood-borne pathogens, also in the interest of reducing sexually transmitted infections.
Film companies and individuals, Vivid Entertainment, Califa Productions Inc., Kayden Kross and Logan Pierce challenged the law.
The opinion by Judge Susan Graber was joined by Judge Alex Kozinski and visiting Judge Jack Zouhary, of Ohio.
Case: Vivid Entertainment v. Fielding, No. 13-56445
TrialInsider.com 