Woman wins right to go "dirty dancing"

[TexasStooge]

MARSHALL, N.C.(Court TV) — After her dancing was banned as "inappropriate," one woman took the fight for her right to party all the way to federal court.

Dethroned dancing queen Rebecca Willis may be cutting rugs again in no time.

Federal magistrate Max O. Cogburn Jr. recommended this week that the town of Marshall violated Willis' First Amendment rights by banning her boogying back in December 2000.

Judge Cogburn's finding is not a final decision, however. That last dance is saved for a federal District Court judge, who must adopt Cogburn's recommendation in order for the case to be settled.

Town of Marshall attorney Larry Leake tells Court TV he will be filing an objection to Cogburn's recommendation within days.

"A 27-page federal opinion doesn't give them a hint?" counters Willis' attorney Jonathan Sasser, who says a district judge's decision could then be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, and eventually even the U.S. Supreme Court.

A dancing dispute before the nation's highest court?

"Well, sometimes the greatest constitutional issues are started over the smallest of facts," concedes Leake.

The dancing debacle began when some town residents complained that Willis, a 59-year-old homemaker, danced in a sexually provocative manner, wearing exceedingly short skirts to the Friday night get-downs at the Marshall Depot, an old train station-turned-local gathering spot.

Dismayed dancers complained that Willis was "simulating sexual intercourse with her partner who hunched on the floor," according to court documents. They claimed that during some of her moves they could see her "privates."

Town officials agreed and a letter from the mayor called Willis' moves "inappropriate behavior," and banned her from the Marshall Depot. Sasser claims this ban violated Willis' rights to due process and free expression.

So with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union and the support of her husband, David "Stumpy" Willis, who reportedly lost a leg to illness and doesn't dance much, Willis sashayed her way through the legal system to defend her right to get down.

Dancing may be a subjective form of self expression but this case is not without its expert testimony.

Katherine Maheu, a professional dance educator and former collegiate dance instructor analyzed a tape of Willis' alleged debauched display but found it to be "well within the confines of what would be deemed tasteful and appropriate for dancing in a club," according to court papers.

Judge Cogburn agreed and recommended that Willis be allowed to dance again. Since the ban, Willis has reportedly been enjoying dance floors in others towns and, on the advice of her attorney, will be staying away from the Marshall Depot until the matter is fully resolved.