RENAISSANCE ARCADE AND BOOKSTORE Et Al. v. COUNTY OF COOK Et Al.

Background

On March 8, 1985, a Cook County court entered a permanent injunction that prevents a group of adult bookstore operators from running their stores in certain unincorporated areas of Cook County, Illinois. The County’s zoning ordinance restricts “adult uses” and specifically defines an “adult book store” by the type of explicit materials it sells. The operators appealed the injunction to the Appellate Court of Illinois for the First Judicial District. That court denied a stay of the injunction on March 20, 1985, and the Illinois Supreme Court denied a stay on April 22, 1985. The operators told the court their stay request concerned only the rights of adult bookstores and then applied to the Justice acting for the Seventh Circuit for a stay on August 29, 1985.

Reasoning

The core question was whether the late application could be treated as a timely request for Supreme Court review or whether some other emergency order could block enforcement. The Justice explained the application was filed more than 90 days after the Illinois Supreme Court’s order, so federal law would not allow it to be treated as a petition for review. The opinion also notes the application did not say the appeal would become moot unless a stay were granted, so an unusual emergency order under the cited federal statute was not appropriate. Citing the timing rule and the lack of an urgent showing, the Justice denied the stay.

Real world impact

The denial leaves the Cook County injunction in effect while the operators pursue their appeal in state courts, so the affected bookstores must comply with the zoning restriction for now. This ruling is procedural and not a final decision on the operators’ underlying free-speech claims, so the legal dispute can continue on appeal and the outcome could still change.