City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc. — Souter, J., Dissenting

Summary

Justice Souter dissents because the city failed to demonstrate a causal link between isolated combined adult bookstores/arcades and secondary effects justifying the zoning breakup policy under First Amendment intermediate scrutiny. He argues the plurality relies on mere speculation rather than empirical evidence, risking covert content-based regulation. Kennedy and Scalia concurred in judgment; Kennedy agreed on intermediate scrutiny but deferred to city planning latitude at summary judgment, while Scalia viewed secondary effects analysis as unnecessary.