Sugar’s heads to court

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By Tory Brecht | Friday, November 3, 2006 3:41 PM CST | () comments

Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES The owners of Sugar’s in downtown Davenport were supposed to meet Thursday with city officials in an effort to stay in business. Instead, the matter will be decided in Scott County District Court.

For the third time in as many months, a hearing on revoking the business license of Sugar’s Exotic Dancers has been postponed.

Now, the legal battle over whether the adult business in downtown Davenport knowingly allowed prostitution on its premises will be decided in Scott County District Court.

“We’re just looking at proceeding in a different direction at this point in time, which we believe may be a more efficient way of resolving the issue in the long term,” city Corporation Counsel Mary Thee said Thursday.

The club was ordered closed Aug. 18 after two women were charged with prostitution as a result of an undercover investigation at the property, 1037 W. 3rd St. A Davenport statute allows businesses that are ordered closed to appeal to a hearing officer, typically the city administrator or a designee. In the Sugar’s case, Deputy City Clerk Jackie Holecek was designated to issue a ruling.

John Moeller, who is representing Sugar’s owner Dorothy Sampson and building owner Dale Labath, has continually claimed that Davenport’s hearing system is unconstitutional.

“They’re asking a city employee to make decisions about her boss,” he said. “The city administrator signed this order. To ask the city clerk to make a decision contrary to her boss’s is not reasonable. That was my complaint to the city.”

Thee said that since it was clear Moeller would appeal a negative decision to district court anyway, the decision was made to shift the entire process there.

That left some business owners who wish to see Sugar’s closed feeling perplexed. Sue Simms, who owns AVS Inc., an audio-visual rental business across the street, questioned why the city did not go directly to district court after the first scheduled hearing was postponed Sept. 22.

“I was under the impression this place was going to be closed a long time ago,” she said. “It seems like they’ve been able to find a way around these issues. I think there are many people who have legitimate business in this area and our voices don’t seem to be heard. It’s a little discouraging.”

Carol Morris, operations manager of Kryger Glass, 1036 W. 3rd St., said the prostitution and other crime issues in the near west-side business district are much deeper than what happens inside the club.

“It seems to me that the prostitution is coming from other apartment buildings and businesses down here,” she said. “The streetwalkers are the ones propositioning our employees. It seems like Sugar’s does a pretty good job of keeping people away. I don’t see anything outside. As far as a neighbor goes, they’re a pretty good neighbor.”

Thee noted that the state laws Sugar’s is being accused of violating — being a public nuisance and allowing a house of prostitution — have different punitive outcomes than city statutes. The city was attempting to revoke Sugar’s business license permanently and prohibit Labath from operating a similar club on the same site for five years.

If Sugar’s is found guilty in district court, the likely outcome is a restraining order to stop business activities. Initially, that order probably would be temporary, Thee said.

Moeller said he welcomes the chance to defend his clients in a courtroom rather than City Hall.

“It gives me the opportunity to subpoena witnesses and documents and prepare a defense,” he said. “That’s something I’m comfortable with, and I think it’s consistent with constitutional requirements. A judge is not employed by the city. Most people want an independent moderator. A judge is trained in the law.”

Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.