When the Colorado Supreme Court announced its stunning, 6-0 decision in favor of the Tattered Cover on April 8, booksellers around the country celebrated an important First Amendment victory that had been more than two years in the making. A week later, the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to nearly six years of litigation when it declared the Child Pornography Prevention Act unconstitutional. As if to prove that good things come in threes, a U.S. District Court judge in Vermont today ruled in the case of ABFFE v. Dean, striking down a ban on posting material that is "harmful to minors" on Web sites.

Booksellers played an important role in all three cases. In Colorado, the Tattered Cover helped persuade the Colorado Supreme Court to declare that never again in Colorado would a bookseller ever face a search warrant for customer records before she or he had an opportunity to oppose it during a court hearing.

ABFFE had opposed the Child Pornography Prevention Act when it was introduced in Congress in 1996 because it widened the definition of child pornography beyond pictures of real minors involved in sexual conduct to include images of people who appear to be minors. ABFFE joined the Association of American Publishers in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court that argued such a prohibition did nothing to protect minors while it would chill legitimate artistic work, including movies like "American Beauty" and "Titanic." Writing for a 6-3 majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy agreed with both points.

The invalidation of the Vermont Internet statute is the fifth case in which ABFFE has joined other members of Media Coalition in successfully challenging a state law that would prevent adults from seeing the same material on the Web that they have a First Amendment right to see in bookstores and libraries. ABFFE is also challenging the Child Online Protection Act, the federal law on which the state laws are modeled. Powell's Books and A Different Light Bookstore are also plaintiffs in the federal case. The Northshire Bookstore joined ABFFE in the challenge to the Vermont law.

Although advanced registration for BookExpo America is now closed, ABFFE is selling tickets for two of the major entertainment events during the book show -- the game between the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Friday, May 3, and the Rock Bottom Remainders concert in Greenwich Village the next night.

Tickets for the Remainders concert at BookExpo are selling fast. Band members Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Roy Blount Jr., Kathi Goldmark, Greg Iles, Stephen King, James McBride, Ridley Pearson, Amy Tan and Scott Turow will rock historic Webster Hall on 11th Street from 9 to 11 p.m. Standing room only crowds danced to the music of the Remainders at the American Booksellers Conventions in Los Angeles, Miami, and Anaheim back in the 90's. It looks like this year's concert will be another sell-out, so order your tickets today. Tickets are $25 per person; $45 for two; $100 for five.

ABFFE is also selling tickets for the May 3 game between the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners at Yankees Stadium. It has a limited number of reserved seats for this game between two American League powerhouses who are likely to meet in the playoffs. Tickets are $25.