'Sketch Pad' Nude Club Owner Pleads Guilty
From Associated Press
March 30, 2006 9:10 PM EST
BOISE, Idaho - The owner of a strip club that made international news with its "art night" promotion has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges that he violated Boise's anti-nudity law.
Christopher Teague, owner of Erotic City, attempted to skirt the city's anti-nudity ordinance last year when he gave patrons sketch pads and pencils so they could draw the nude dancers.
The city rules require dancers to wear at least thongs and pasties, though the law includes an exception for "serious artistic merit." Teague said he started art night to challenge the ordinance, which he believes is unconstitutional.
"What are they doing on stage? It's dancing," he said. "Is it an art form? Of course it is."
Magistrate Judge Thomas Watkins disputed Teague's claim that the ordinance is unconstitutional, citing a similar ordinance in Erie, Pa., that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Teague - who faces fines of up to $300 and six months in jail for each of the three charges - has vowed to fight the ordinance "all the way to the top."
He's reserved the right to appeal the constitutionality of the ordinance, though his guilty plea means he cannot use the art night promotion in legal arguments, Assistant City Attorney Alison Tate said.
Teague is scheduled to be sentenced May 19.
From Associated Press
March 30, 2006 9:10 PM EST
BOISE, Idaho - The owner of a strip club that made international news with its "art night" promotion has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges that he violated Boise's anti-nudity law.
Christopher Teague, owner of Erotic City, attempted to skirt the city's anti-nudity ordinance last year when he gave patrons sketch pads and pencils so they could draw the nude dancers.
The city rules require dancers to wear at least thongs and pasties, though the law includes an exception for "serious artistic merit." Teague said he started art night to challenge the ordinance, which he believes is unconstitutional.
"What are they doing on stage? It's dancing," he said. "Is it an art form? Of course it is."
Magistrate Judge Thomas Watkins disputed Teague's claim that the ordinance is unconstitutional, citing a similar ordinance in Erie, Pa., that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Teague - who faces fines of up to $300 and six months in jail for each of the three charges - has vowed to fight the ordinance "all the way to the top."
He's reserved the right to appeal the constitutionality of the ordinance, though his guilty plea means he cannot use the art night promotion in legal arguments, Assistant City Attorney Alison Tate said.
Teague is scheduled to be sentenced May 19.
