Norma Jean Almodovar and R.N. Bullard v. Ira Reiner, Burton J. Schneirow, Darryl Gates, Joseph Conti, and James G. Como

832 F.2d 1138 Norma Jean ALMODOVAR and R.N. Bullard, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Ira REINER, Burton J. Schneirow, Darryl Gates, Joseph Conti, and James G. Como, Defendants-Appellees. No. 87-5521. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted Oct. 8, 1987. Decided Nov. 17, 1987. Stanley Fleishman, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants. Ladell H. Muhlestein, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants-appellees Reiner and Schneirow. Jack L. Brown, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants-appellees Gates, Como and Conti. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before KENNEDY, SKOPIL and NELSON, Circuit Judges. NELSON, Circuit Judge: 1 Appellants contend that using California's pandering and prostitution statutes to prevent them from making sexually explicit films violates their federal and state constitutional rights. Because the California Supreme Court had not construed the two statutes as applying to filmmakers, and because a similar challenge is currently before the California Supreme Court, the district court abstained following the doctrine of Railroad Commissioner v. Pullman, 312 U.S. 496 , 61 S.Ct. 643 , 85 L.Ed. 971 (1941). The…