Challenge to Florida's stripper age law dropped, judge closes case
By Jim Saunders - News Service of Florida
May 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT
Plaintiffs have dropped a challenge to a Florida law that prevents strippers under age 21 from performing in adult-entertainment establishments.
After a federal appeals court last month upheld similar restrictions in Jacksonville, plaintiffs have dropped a challenge to a Florida law that prevents strippers under age 21 from performing in adult-entertainment establishments.
Attorneys for two clubs, a dancer and an adult retail store filed a notice Tuesday in federal court in Tallahassee dismissing the lawsuit, which challenged the law on First Amendment grounds. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor issued an order Wednesday closing the case.
The notice of dismissal did not explain the reasons, but attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a court document May 7 that pointed to a decision last month by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That decision upheld the constitutionality of a Jacksonville ordinance that bars dancers under age 21 in strip clubs.
The May 7 document said the Jacksonville ordinance “was very similar to the (state) statute challenged in this proceeding. In particular both laws prohibit the employment of persons under the age of 21 in exotic dance establishments.”
It also said the plaintiffs in the Jacksonville case did not plan to seek a rehearing or to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Accordingly, the decision issued by the Eleventh Circuit on April 23, 2025 is likely to be a final decision and precedential within this circuit,” the May 7 document said.
Lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis last year overwhelmingly approved the age restriction, with supporters saying it was aimed at combatting human trafficking.
ALSO READ: Florida fights a constitutional challenge to a stripper age law
The lawsuit was filed in July by operators of Cafe Risque, an establishment in Alachua County; operators of Sinsations, an establishment in Jacksonville; Serenity Michelle Bushey, a dancer who performed at Cafe Risque but was barred by the law from working there because she was under 21; and Exotic Fantasies, Inc., which operates a retail store in Jacksonville.
The lawsuit said the Legislature did not “consider any alternative forms of regulation which would burden First Amendment rights less severely; that is, the Legislature made no effort to solicit information in support of a more narrowly tailored law.” Also, it said the state had not shown a connection between human trafficking and adult-entertainment establishments.
Winsor in December put the case on hold while the Atlanta-based appeals court considered the Jacksonville ordinance.
In the May 7 filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote that operators of Cafe Risque and Sinsations and Bushey “are similarly situated to the litigants in (the Jacksonville case); to-wit: they are either performers or establishments utilizing performers to provide exotic dance entertainment.”
But the document appeared to leave open the possibility that Exotic Fantasies, the retail store, could continue to challenge the law.
“Exotic Fantasies has alleged that the Legislature considered adverse secondary effects in connection with exotic dance clubs but did not consider any evidence linking adult retail stores to human trafficking or other adverse secondary effects,” the May 7 document said. “Exotic Fantasies has also alleged that, as a matter of empirical fact, there is no basis to conclude that adult retail stores with no on-premises entertainment are linked in any way with human trafficking.”
But the notice of dismissal Tuesday included all of the plaintiffs. It was filed “without prejudice,” a legal term that leaves open the possibility that a challenge could be re-filed.
Attorneys for two clubs, a dancer and an adult retail store filed a notice Tuesday in federal court in Tallahassee dismissing the lawsuit, which challenged the law on First Amendment grounds. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor issued an order Wednesday closing the case.
The notice of dismissal did not explain the reasons, but attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a court document May 7 that pointed to a decision last month by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That decision upheld the constitutionality of a Jacksonville ordinance that bars dancers under age 21 in strip clubs.
The May 7 document said the Jacksonville ordinance “was very similar to the (state) statute challenged in this proceeding. In particular both laws prohibit the employment of persons under the age of 21 in exotic dance establishments.”
It also said the plaintiffs in the Jacksonville case did not plan to seek a rehearing or to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Accordingly, the decision issued by the Eleventh Circuit on April 23, 2025 is likely to be a final decision and precedential within this circuit,” the May 7 document said.
Lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis last year overwhelmingly approved the age restriction, with supporters saying it was aimed at combatting human trafficking.
ALSO READ: Florida fights a constitutional challenge to a stripper age law
The lawsuit was filed in July by operators of Cafe Risque, an establishment in Alachua County; operators of Sinsations, an establishment in Jacksonville; Serenity Michelle Bushey, a dancer who performed at Cafe Risque but was barred by the law from working there because she was under 21; and Exotic Fantasies, Inc., which operates a retail store in Jacksonville.
The lawsuit said the Legislature did not “consider any alternative forms of regulation which would burden First Amendment rights less severely; that is, the Legislature made no effort to solicit information in support of a more narrowly tailored law.” Also, it said the state had not shown a connection between human trafficking and adult-entertainment establishments.
Winsor in December put the case on hold while the Atlanta-based appeals court considered the Jacksonville ordinance.
In the May 7 filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote that operators of Cafe Risque and Sinsations and Bushey “are similarly situated to the litigants in (the Jacksonville case); to-wit: they are either performers or establishments utilizing performers to provide exotic dance entertainment.”
But the document appeared to leave open the possibility that Exotic Fantasies, the retail store, could continue to challenge the law.
“Exotic Fantasies has alleged that the Legislature considered adverse secondary effects in connection with exotic dance clubs but did not consider any evidence linking adult retail stores to human trafficking or other adverse secondary effects,” the May 7 document said. “Exotic Fantasies has also alleged that, as a matter of empirical fact, there is no basis to conclude that adult retail stores with no on-premises entertainment are linked in any way with human trafficking.”
But the notice of dismissal Tuesday included all of the plaintiffs. It was filed “without prejudice,” a legal term that leaves open the possibility that a challenge could be re-filed.