For Immediate Release - April 8, 2002

For more information contact: Chris Finan, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (212) 587-4025

DENVER, April 8, 2002--The Colorado Supreme Court today reversed a court decision that required Denver's Tattered Cover Book Store to turn over information about books purchased by one of its customers. In a decision by all six of the participating justices, the Supreme Court ruled that the search warrant issued to the Tattered Cover violated both the First Amendment and the Colorado Constitution's guarantee of free expression. "Had it not been for the Tattered Cover's steadfast stance, the zealousness of the City would have led to the disclosure of information that we ultimately conclude is constitutionally protected," the Court declared.

In its 51-page decision, the Court said that search warrants targeting bookseller records pose such a grave threat to free expression that in the future they should only be issued after a hearing at which the bookseller has an opportunity to oppose them. "Search warrants directed to bookstores, demanding information about the reading history of customers, intrude upon the First Amendment rights of customers and bookstores because compelled disclosure of book-buying records threatens to destroy the anonymity upon which many customers depend," the Court said.

Although the decision will apply only to the Colorado courts, it will have national significance, Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), said. "The Colorado Supreme Court has issued the strongest opinion by any court on the importance of protecting customer privacy in bookstores. It will influence judges deciding future cases involving bookstore search warrants and subpoenas," he explained.

There has been an alarming increase in the number of bookstore subpoenas and search warrants since Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Monica Lewinsky's book purchase records in 1998, Finan added. In the last two years, there have been four cases involving search warrants or subpoenas for bookstore customer information. However, the bookstores successfully resisted these demands.

The Tattered Cover case began in April 2000 when police attempted to serve a search warrant for the records of a Tattered Cover customer who was suspected of illegally manufacturing methamphetamine. The warrant sought a list of the customer's book puchases over a 30-day period as well as information about the contents of an empty Tattered Cover envelope that was found in the trash outside the suspect's home. The police wanted to know if the envelope had contained two books on manufacturing methamphetamine that were found inside the home. In October, a Denver District Court judge narrowed the scope of the warrant but ordered Tattered Cover to identify the contents of the envelope.

ABFFE has helped raise money to pay Tattered Cover's legal bills. It has also organized amicus briefs on Tattered Cover's behalf.