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NM Supreme Court Tosses Conviction Over Adult Films

New Mexico's highest court has tossed out an Albuquerque movie theater's conviction for violating a zoning restriction on where adult films can be shown.

The state Supreme Court said Thursday in a split decision the art-house theater wasn't an "adult amusement establishment" under the city ordinance because it only occasionally showed erotic or pornographic films.

A company that does business as the Guild Cinema showed adult films only one weekend a year during a festival called "Pornotopia." It was fined $500 for showing an X-rated film during a 2008 festival.

The court made its ruling without deciding whether the theater's free speech rights were violated by the restrictions on adult films.

Justice Petra Jimenez Maes dissented, saying the majority ruling undermined the zoning power of cities.

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