The Missouri Supreme Court Tuesday upheld the state’s tough new restrictions on adult businesses, saying they do not violate the Missouri or United States Constitutions.

In a unanimous ruling, the judges upheld a Cole County trial decision, in which a judge rejected a challenge raised by some adult entertainment businesses and other individuals.

The trial court found that the legislature reasonably relied on evidence linking the restrictions to the suppression of negative secondary effects of those businesses. They also rejected the argument that the law should be thrown out because lawmakers failed to hold a hearing on the accuracy of the act’s fiscal note.

In a decision written by Judge Laura Denvir Stith and joined by all participating judges, the Supreme Court of Missouri affirms the trial court’s judgment and finds that the act is valid under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution as well as article III, section 35 of the Missouri Constitution.

Attorney General Chris Koster said he is pleased with the ruling. Koster’s office represented the state in the court proceedings. He said his office has maintained since the legislation was enacted that the new restrictions are constitutional and should remain the law of the land. Koster’s office also prevailed in a lower court ruling on the legislation.

“At the time the General Assembly passed this law in 2010,” Koster said, “there was both state and federal legal precedent upholding provisions similar to those contained in the Missouri law, and a lower court agreed with our arguments. I’m pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the law and the will of the General Assembly.”

A summary of the case can be found here. The high court’s ruling can be found here.