| Court: | WI Ct. App. |
| Facts: | Dancers from out of state do lewd things at a tavern. The cops show up and arrest the dancers, but not the other participants in the frivolity. |
| Posture: | Trial court dismisses the case, state appeals. |
| Issue: | Is this indeed a violation of 14A equal protection? |
| Holding: | Yes. The dismissal is affirmed. |
| Rule: | The language of the statute clearly applies to both men and women. The discrimination here affected a specifically inappropriate class. |
| Reasoning: | The decisionmaker must base the decision "because of" not "in spite of" membership in an identifiable group, and that was the case here. The claim that the state didn't have the evidence to prosecute any men smells funny: the cops say they were targeting the women. This plan of attack serves no important governmental objective. |
| Dicta: | |