SAN DIEGO (AP) – Two San Diego strip clubs may remain open and make their own decisions about providing a safe environment for dancers and patrons during the pandemic, a judge ruled Wednesday, reversing the Governor Gavin Newsom’s health order calling for these establishments will be closed.
The scope of the preliminary instruction of San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil seemed to extend far beyond the two clubs that sued the state to all the thousands of restaurants in San Diego County, the second largest county in the state after Los Angeles.
Wohlfiel said it applies to “San Diego County businesses with catering services,” including strip clubs, and exempts them from shutdowns and “any related order” that bans adult entertainment. live and go beyond protocols “that are not superior to the essential”. to control the spread of COVID-19.
The judge noted that Pacers International Showgirls and Cheetahs Gentlemen’s Club operated for five weeks during the pandemic under their own security measures, which included keeping strippers 15 feet (4.6 meters) from the tables, allowing no more than ‘one stripper per stage and requiring them and other employees to wear masks.
Michael Workman, a San Diego County spokesman, said county attorneys were meeting “to decipher the sentence and determine what will be next. Stay tuned.” Last week, county supervisors promised to appeal any extension of the exemption for strip clubs, which the judge initially granted last month.
The state attorney general’s office referred questions to Newsom and the California Department of Public Health. The governor’s office said his legal team was “reviewing options to determine the next steps.”
“While we are disappointed today with the court’s decision, we remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the health and safety of all Californians,” the Newsom office said in a statement.
Jason Saccuzzo, a Pacers attorney, referred to the precise language of the order when asked about its scope, saying it was “a difficult question to answer.”
Steve Hoffman, a Cheetahs attorney, said he was “very pleased” with the ruling and made no comment on whether it extended to other restaurant clubs and restaurants.
“Cheetahs and pacers will continue to operate in a manner that takes all appropriate and essential measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while providing a means for their personnel to make a living,” he wrote in a statement. e-mail.
The sentence, which goes into effect immediately, comes after Newsom’s stay-at-home order on Dec. 3 in response to a wave of coronavirus cases that has hit hospitals across the state.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in an order to “cease and desist” from both clubs last week that they were violating the state’s new policy, which bans indoor and outdoor food and bans social gatherings that bring together people from different households in an effort. to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Becerra wrote that he was acting on behalf of Newsom, a fellow Democrat and the state health department, and would pursue legal action if companies failed to comply.
Wednesday’s resolution followed more than an hour of argumentative spirit about whether state authorities exceeded or acted within the law to protect public health.
“What will happen next when there is a major emergency? Will we all be under house arrest? Will we even have a Constitution? said Saccuzzo, the Pacers lawyer. “I’m afraid we end up in a country we don’t even recognize.”
State Attorney Patti Li highlighted the shortage of intensive care beds and the growing waits at hospital emergencies to justify what she stressed were temporary measures.
“It’s really about the whole community, the whole state,” Li said. “This is the most serious moment of this pandemic in the state, in the nation so far.”
He discussed the clubs’ argument that the orders violated constitutional rights to freedom of expression by banning adult entertainment, and said the restrictions were aimed at live performances with close people. “There’s no orientation to expression here,” he said.
The clubs sued the state and county in October after they were ordered to close.
Last month, a judge in another case denied the request to temporarily lift some restrictions on restaurants and gyms in San Diego County. The California Restaurant Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday’s resolution.