City of Roanoke v. Holt

BY JUDGE CLIFFORD R. WECKSTEIN

Paul Matthews Holt, III, the defendant, has been indicted for violation of a Roanoke city ordinance. He challenges the validity of that ordinance. Here, in summary, is his major argument:

1. He is charged with violating a local ordinance which forbids negotiating for a commercial act of sodomy.

2. A state statute also forbids negotiating for a commercial act of sodomy.

3. Under Virginia Code § 1-13.17, localities may not enact ordinances which are inconsistent with state statutes.

4. The local ordinance explicitly places a lesser burden of proof on the prosecution…