GAYETY THEATRES, INC., D/B/A PUSSYCAT THEATRE AND LEROY C. GRIFFITH, WILLIAM FINIGAN, LOU HOLLANDER AND SANFORD OLEESKY, APPELLANTS,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA EX REL. RICHARD E. GERSTEIN, APPELLEE
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Court affirmed civil contempt order against theatre and one owner for violating obscenity injunction against showing "Deep Throat," but reversed as to two other defendants not parties to the original order and struck the blanket prohibition on X-rated films as an unconstitutional prior restraint.
A civil contempt order may be enforced against parties to an original injunction, but not against non-parties, and blanket prohibitions on showing X-rated films constitute unconstitutional prior restraints.
[1] A defendant not made a party to an original injunctive order cannot be held in civil contempt for violating that order.
[2] A blanket prohibition on the exhibition of X-rated films constitutes an unconstitutional prior restraint on free expression under the First Amendment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGayety Theatres and its owners were enjoined from showing the film "Deep Throat" on obscenity grounds under Florida law. The theatre subsequently viol…
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PER CURIAM.
By this appeal we are asked to review the propriety of a civil contempt order entered in the Circuit Court for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida based on a violation of a prior court order which had enjoined the showing of the film “Deep Throat” on grounds of obscenity under Section 847.011, Florida Statutes (1977). No appeal was taken from the prior injunctive order. We affirm the civil contempt order entered herein against the defendants Gayety Theatres, Inc., d/b/a Pussycat Theatre and Leroy C. Griffith as the order is based on substantial competent evidence.
We reverse the civil contempt order, however, as to the defendants, William Finigan and Lou Hollander, because such defendants were not made parties to the original order which had enjoined the showing of the aforesaid film “Deep Throat”. In addition, the last paragraph of the contempt order herein which forbids the defendants from showing or attempting to show any X-rated movies is stricken as an unconstitutional prior restraint on free expression prohibited by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Mitchem v. State ex rel. Schaub, 250 So. 2d 883 (Fla.1971); Art Theatre Enterprises, Inc. v. State ex rel. Gerstein, 260 So. 2d 267 (Fla.3d DCA 1972); Paris Follies, Inc. v. State ex rel. Gerstein, 259 So. 2d 532 (Fla.3d DCA 1972).
Affirmed in part; reversed in part.
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Lindman v. Ellis, 658 So. 2d 632 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…court's jurisdiction as to Lindman. Lindman was not a party to the foreclosure action and the order authorizing the receiver to vote was not directed to her. A nonparty may not be held in indirect civil contempt. See Gayety Theatres, Inc. v. State, 359 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). However, under certain circumstances, a nonparty may be subject to indirect criminal contempt. See In re Elrod, 455 So. 2d 1325 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984).…
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Shook v. Alter, 729 So. 2d 527 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…ot reach in this case is whether appellant, who was counsel in this case, and not a party, can be held in civil contempt. There is authority that civil contempt cannot be applied against non-parties. Gayety Theatres, Inc. v. State ex. rel. Gerstein, 359 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978) and Lindman v. Ellis, 658 So. 2d 632, n. 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). Non-parties can be held in criminal contempt. Doe v. Watson, 507 So. 2d 1164 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987); In re Elrod, 455 So. 2d 1325 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Johnson v. State, 4…
Authorities Cited
- Mitchem v. State of Fla. ex rel Frank Schaub, 250 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 1971)
- ART Theatre Enters., Inc. v. State of Fla. ex rel. Richard E. Gerstein, 260 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- Paris Follies, Inc. v. State of Fla. ex rel. Richard E. Gerstein, 259 So. 2d 532 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)