Thursday, March 6, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The new county ordinance bans distributors of adult-oriented materials in areas designated as the "resort district."
Tourists and Las Vegas residents have complained about distributors who hawk materials promoting businesses such as outcall services. Police have said the outcall services are a front for prostitution.
Attorney Robert Murdock, who represents Hillsboro Enterprises, one of the adult-oriented companies, says his client plans to send distributors to other areas, including possibly the Bootlegger restaurant.
The upscale Bootlegger is owned by Clark County Commissioner Lorraine Hunt.
Such action would be silly and punitive, Hunt said Wednesday. Hillsboro has plenty of other opportunities to advertise, just like any other business, Hunt said.
Hillsboro Enterprises, which supplies for-hire dancers to a mostly tourist clientele, was one of two such companies that sued the county in an effort to stop enforcement of the ordinance.
U.S. District Judge Lloyd George denied the companies' motion for an injunction Tuesday. Murdock immediately filed a motion to stay the decision pending appeal, but George also denied that motion.
Hillsboro's distributors were passing out more than 400,000 handbills each month on the Strip before commissioners passed the ordinance, according to court documents. Murdock said his client plans to find new ways to advertise the company's services while appealing the judge's ruling.
Clark County commissioners passed an ordinance Jan. 21 that makes it a misdemeanor to engage in "off-premise canvassing" on the Strip and around the Las Vegas Convention Center - areas designated as the "resort district."
The ordinance prohibits the distribution of materials advertising commercial transactions. Violations carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Hillsboro and S.O.C. Inc., another business that offers exotic dance services, quickly sought a temporary restraining order to prevent police from enforcing the ordinance.
Capt. Terry Lesney said Las Vegas police issued about 500 citations to handbill distributors on the Strip during the past month.
"In the majority of cases, it was the same offenders over and over again," Lesney said.
Tuesday's federal court ruling means police now may arrest the distributors if they refuse to stop passing out their materials in the resort district.
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