Richard S. Soranno Southwest Advertising, Inc. v. Clark County Chuck Jenner

Southwest Advertising, Inc., and its owner, Richard Soranno (collectively, “Sor-anno”), brought this action in federal district court seeking declaratory and injunc-tive relief that would require Clark County to issue Soranno permits to place news-racks on certain sidewalks of the Las Vegas Strip. The sidewalks in question are on land that is privately owned by casinos, but the sidewalks are subject to a public easement for pedestrian use. Their history is explained in Venetian Casino Resort, LLC v. Local Joint Executive Board of Las Vegas, 257 F.3d 937, 939-40 (9th Cir.2001). The County has an ordinance requiring permits for newsracks on public rights of way along the Las Vegas Strip. See Clark County, Nev., Code § 16.08.052(g) (2001). Between May 1999 and May 2000, Soranno applied for a number of permits, but the County denied his applications.

Soranno filed this action in May 2001, arguing that the denial of permits infringed on his First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and his Due Process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court dismissed Soranno’s action on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction over the claim, and that Soranno had failed…