Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc.

Background

Three companies that run bars challenged a North Hempstead local law that made it illegal for entertainers to appear with uncovered breasts in any public place. The bar owners sued in federal court under a civil-rights statute saying the rule violated free speech and equal protection. One bar, M & L, resumed topless dancing after filing suit and was served criminal summonses; the other two waited. The federal district court enjoined enforcement against all three, and the court of appeals mostly agreed, prompting this appeal by the town attorney.

Reasoning

The main question was whether federal courts must refuse to intervene when a state criminal prosecution is pending (the Younger principle). The Court held that M & L, which resumed the banned conduct and was promptly prosecuted, could not get federal injunctive or declaratory relief because Younger and related cases bar federal interference in ongoing state prosecutions. By contrast, the two bars that had not been prosecuted could seek preliminary injunctive relief in federal court. The Justices also accepted that the ordinance was overbroad — covering many public places beyond bars — and found no adequate state interest to outweigh the speech concerns at the preliminary stage.

Real world impact

The ruling lets federal courts block enforcement of overbroad local nudity rules when no state prosecution is pending, but denies federal relief to businesses that provoke immediate state prosecutions. The decision does not resolve the final constitutionality of the ordinance; it addresses only interim relief and Younger-related limits.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Douglas agreed the two unprosecuted bars deserved relief but disagreed about M & L, saying he would have affirmed the lower court for all three respondents.