| Colorado Supreme Court Agrees to Review Tattered Cover Search
Warrant
It has been over a year since plainclothes policemen entered Denver's
Tattered Cover Book Store and told owner Joyce Meskis that they had a warrant to search
for the book purchase records of one of her customers. It has seemed longer than that to
Meskis, who became a focus of national attention when she went to court in an effort to
quash the warrant. Nevertheless, the case took a giant step forward on June 27 when the
Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear the case immediately instead of waiting for a
decision by the intermediate state appeals court. This is important because the Supreme
Court has been very protective of free expression. On more than one occasion, it has ruled
that the free speech clause of the Colorado Constitution is more protective than even the
First Amendment.
ABFFE has been actively supporting the Tattered Cover in its fight. In
addition to raising funds to help the store pay its legal fees, ABFFE has filed two amicus
briefs on its behalf. Its latest brief will be submitted to the Supreme Court.
"The Wind Done Gone" is a Bestseller, but the Legal Fight
Continues
Alice Randall's novel, "The Wind Done Gone," is climbing the bestseller lists
thanks to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals that overturned an injunction blocking its
publication. However, the legal case is continuing. The estate of author Margaret Mitchell
has asked all of the judges on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to review the
decision, which was issued by three of their colleagues in late May. If this fails, the
estate can return to the district court and seek a full trial of its claim that the book
violates the copyrights protecting "Gone With The Wind." If it prevails there,
the court could order the publisher to withdraw the book and pay damages. However, such a
decision would be appealed immediately on First Amendment grounds.
ABFFE joined PEN American Center, the Freedom to Read Foundation and others in filing
an amicus brief urging the appeals court to overturn the injunction.
US Supreme Court to Consider Three Important Speech Cases in 2001-2
ABFFE is participating in three cases that are scheduled for review by the U.S. Supreme
Court during its 2001-2 term. The Court will once again decide whether the government can
censor constitutionally protected material on the Internet if it is "harmful to
minors." The case involves a challenge to the Child Online Protection Act, which bans
the display of material that is "harmful" on Web sites even if adults have a
First Amendment right to see it. ABFFE, Powell's Books and A Different Light Bookstore are
among the plaintiffs in the case.
ABFFE is also participating as a friend of the court in two other cases that could
affect bookstores. It has filed a brief urging the Court to strike down the Child
Pornography Prevention Act, which broadens the definition of child pornography beyond
depictions of actual children engaged in sexual conduct to include "virtual"
depictions as well as drawings. Sponsors of the legislation argue that the law is needed
to suppress material that may appeal to the prurient interest of child molesters. The
amicus brief filed by ABFFE, the Association of American Publishers and other members of
the Media Coalition warns that expanding the definition beyond actual minors runs the
danger that the law will have a chilling effect on literary and artistic works.
ABFFE is also urging the Court to curb legislative efforts to widen the definition of
an "adult" bookstore. The process has reached a point where in some places a
general bookstore can be regulated and forced to locate in areas zoned for adult
businesses if it receives as little as 10 per cent of its income from the sale of material
with sexual content. In 1986, the Court ruled that adult businesses could be regulated
because of their harmful effects on surrounding property owners. However, that decision
applied to businesses deriving almost all of their income from the sale of sexually
explicit material. The ABFFE brief urges the Court to require legislators to prove that a
business has harmful secondary effects before they can regulate it.
ABFFE Prepares for 20th Anniversary of Banned Books Week, Sept. 22-29
In 1981, the American Booksellers Association joined the American Library Association,
the AAP and others to launch the only annual celebration of the freedom to read. Twenty
years later, Banned Books Week has become one of the most popular promotions in bookstores
and libraries around the country. Over 1,200 independent booksellers and 2,500 libraries
ordered promotional kits last year. Banned Books Week has also become one of the most
effective ways of demonstrating to the public how precious and precarious First Amendment
rights are.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Banned Books Week, ABFFE has released a new poster
and T-shirt celebrating free speech. Under the words, "The Fire Still Burns...",
the poster depicts a Nazi book burning in Berlin in May 1933 and urges people to
"Defend the Freedom to Read." The T-shirt bears the text of an anti-censorship
ad that booksellers supported in the early 1990's. It says: "Free People Write Books;
Free People Publish Books; Free People Sell Books; Free People Buy Books; Free People Read
Books. A special logo for the 20th anniversary of Banned Books Week appears on the sleeve.
The posters are $6. T-shirts are $14. They may be ordered through the ABFFE online store.
The Banned Book Week kit, including a resource manual and three posters will begin
shipping in early August. (The kit does not include the ABFFE Burning Books poster, which
must be ordered separately.) The kit is sent automatically to ABFFE members. Members of
the American Booksellers Association who do not belong to ABFFE are entitled to receive a
free kit, but they must order it hrough the ABFFE Web site, by e-mail (tim@abffe.com), by
phone, (212) 587-4025 or by fax, (212) 587-2436.
Previously in ABFFE Update
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