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Minimum Age for Louisiana Strippers Rejected Again

By George Khoury, Esq. on September 24, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

In the great state of Louisiana, the state's attorney general and commissioner of alcohol and tobacco have been fighting a fight that exotic dancers just don't think are right.

In 2016, the state both defined and raised the minimum age requirement for exotic dancers in establishments that serve alcohol. While the industry had always presumed the minimum age was 18, this was not actually stated in the law. In 2016, the new law passed and set the minimum age at 21, which as a result, caused many dancers between the ages of 18 and 21 to be out of a job, or forced to take other positions which pay significantly less.

Injunction Function

Fortunately for the three Jane Doe plaintiffs, both the district and appellate courts have taken their sides. The appellate court recently upheld the preliminary injunction issued by district court preventing the law from being enforced. The matter reached the Fifth Circuit on an interlocutory appeal.

The appellate court explained that while the district court may have some flaws to its reasoning, it was nevertheless correct to find the Louisiana statute unconstitutionally vague.

Vagary for Exposure

Notably, while the appellate court disagreed with part of the district court's analysis, it did agree that the failure of the state to proscribe exactly how much of an exotic dancer's buttocks and breasts need to be exposed before they fell under the law, caused terminal vagueness.

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