Teen dance law upheld in court

A federal district judge has ruled dancing is not considered a form of protected expression.

The decision came yesterday, as U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik ruled in favor of the city of Seattle in a lawsuit filed by the Joint Artist and Musicians Action Committee (JAMPAC). Seattle will now continue to enforce its teen dance ordinance (TDO), which creates restrictions for dance promoters and limits the ages of attendees to between 16 and 20 years old.

"It is clear that the TDO could be improved, and some of JAMPAC's suggestions that were incorporated into the ordinance that passed the city council in 2000 would do just that," said Lasnik. "However, in this all-or-nothing forum, the court's job is limited to defining the boundaries of the Constitution."

Lasnik also concluded that all-ages concerts are exempt from the TDO, and defined concerts as events with live bands playing.

Still, representatives of the local music scene are distraught.

"It's illogical for a judge to rule that kids can dance to bands but not DJs," said Kate Becker, promoter for the Vera Project, a city-funded all-ages venue. "Dances require more regulation than concerts? Not."

The decision concludes a long-lasting battle between JAMPAC and the TDO, which began in December 2000 when JAMPAC's lawyer, David Osgood, filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief of the ordinance, stating the ordinance violated anti-trust laws and constitutional rights of free expression.

The lawsuit follows then-Mayor Paul Schell's veto of a more recent all-ages dance ordinance, which was a newly revised music ordinance written by representatives of the local music community and passed city council with a seven-vote majority in August 2000. The ordinance, had it not been vetoed, would have removed the TDO's requirement that all-ages dances have two off-duty officers in attendance and that patrons be between 16 and 20 years old.

The day before the trial began in March, Tom Carr, the city's main attorney, along with Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council, rejected settlement offers from JAMPAC, which was willing to drop the lawsuit for adoption of the latter ordinance.

In a media release, JAMPAC Executive Director Angel Combs stated that "we are surprised and disappointed in Lasnik's ruling and feel this cannot stand as a matter of law. JAMPAC will file an appeal and look into our legislative options."

The TDO was indoctrinated in 1985 after allegations of drug use and sex at the all-ages dance club The Monastery.