Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit By Milwaukee Gay Arts Center

MILWAUKEE — A federal judge threw out a civil rights lawsuit the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center filed after police shut down its production of “Naked Boys Singing.”
The police department’s vice squad shut down the nude musical revue in August 2005 because its organizers did not have a license. But the city later determined the center did not need the license because it is a nonprofit group, and the show resumed performances in October 2005.
The center was seeking more than $600,000 in damages, alleging violations of free speech and due process.
But U.S. District Judge Charles N. Clevert Jr. dismissed the suit last week, saying that in order to proceed, the Center “must establish that the violations were part of a custom or policy by the municipality.”
That was not the case in the matter because the vice squad does not have citywide decision-making authority, Clevert said.
from The Winona Daily News