NP privacy

[Doug Millison]

Tattered Cover Forced To Turn Over Records

A Denver district court judge has ruled that Denver's Tattered Cover
bookstore must turn over its records regarding a police warrant involving
the purchase of two books by a person suspected of operating a
methamphetamine lab, but did grant a restraining order that prohibits the
authorities from looking at records pertaining to the suspect's purchases
over a month-long-period. The decision resulted from a search warrant
obtained by Denver police in April that sought to determine if two books
about building a meth lab had come in a Tattered Cover mailer found near
the suspect's property.

In limiting the scope of the warrant, Judge J. Stephen Phillips ruled that
the request by police to have access to purchase records for a month was a
violation of the First Amendment right for persons "to receive information
and ideas regardless of social worth, and to receive such information
without government intrusion or observation." However, Judge Phillips did
decide that the police had met the necessary criteria to force the Tattered
Cover to allow authorities to examine records that may reveal the name of
the person to whom the books in the mailer were sent and what the names of
the books were. The judge found that "who purchased the books is a highly
important piece of evidence" and that the information "is not really
available from another source." Judge Phillips said that case is
dramatically different than the Kramerbooks case in which the independent
prosecutor sought the book buying records of Monica Lewinsky. "Those
subpoenas were exploratory in nature and the government was unable to show
any need or nexus to a criminal event," Phillips wrote.

In a press conference held after the decision, Tattered Cover owner Joyce
Meskis told reporters that "turning over the information that the judge has
demanded would have a chilling effect" on what books people may purchase.
Meskis has 15 days from the day the decision was handed down to decide
whether she will appeal the verdict.

Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free
Expression, said an appeal has both advantages and disadvantages. In
particular, Finan noted that ABFEE, which is helping to underwrite Meskis'
legal costs, was "pleased that the judge recognized First Amendment
concerns" in limiting the search warrant. And while ABFEE disagreed over
the need to turn over any information, Finan noted that there is a danger
an appeals court may not take in First Amendment considerations at all. "We
are trying to get the courts to recognize that bookstores are not fishing
tanks for the police," Finan told PW Daily, adding that bookstores deserve
that same sort of First Amendment protection enjoyed by other media
outlets.--Jim Milliot

from:
PW Daily for Booksellers from Publishers Weekly
Tuesday, October 24, 2000
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