ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Being a stripper doesn’t strip you of your right to work for a police department. That’s the gist of a decision from a New Mexico jury.

Jurors have awarded Vivian Martinez $80,000 in her suit against the Tucumcari police department. The former exotic dancer claimed her constitutional rights were violated when she was rejected for a job as an officer-dispatcher.

The attorney for the department and city argued the ex-stripper wasn’t qualified for the job. Martinez is happy with the verdict. She says her case wasn’t about the money but the principle.