BOOKSTORE RECORDS SHIELDED

Colorado Court Rebuffs Police

DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Supreme Court refused yesterday to order a
bookstore to tell police who bought two how-to books on making illegal
drugs, saying that the First Amendment and state Constitution protect the
right to purchase books anonymously.

The unanimous 6-0 decision overturns a ruling by a Denver judge who said
that Joyce Meskis, owner of the Tattered Cover Book Store, must give
records of the sale to a Denver-area drug task force.

Police and prosecutors had argued that the buyer's identity was critical to
their investigation of a methamphetamine lab and that they had no other way
to prove who owned the books.

But the high court declared that the First Amendment and the Colorado
Constitution "protect an individual's fundamental right to purchase books
anonymously, free from governmental interference."

Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free
Expression, said the ruling was the first by a state supreme court on a
bookseller's right to protect the identity of its customers.

"It is a huge relief and just a thoughtful and well-reasoned decision by
the court, for which we are very grateful," Meskis said.

Police sought the records after finding a mailer envelope from the
bookstore outside a mobile home they had raided.

Inside the trailer were a methamphetamine lab and the how-to books,
"Advanced Techniques of Clandestine Psychedelic and Amphetamine
Manufacture" by Uncle Fester and "The Construction and Operation of
Clandestine Drug Laboratories" by Jack B. Nimble.

The envelope was printed with an invoice number and the trailer's address,
along with the name of one of the residents. Police found no fingerprints
on the books and obtained a search warrant to find out who ordered them.

Police suspected the man who lived in the master bedroom where the lab was
found, but sought additional evidence.

The court said yesterday that the search warrant should never have been issued.

Tattered Cover, one of the country's largest independent bookstores, had
argued that the order violated its customers' First Amendment rights.

The store was assisted in the case by the American Booksellers Foundation
for Free Expression.

So far, no arrests have been made in the drug case, pending the outcome of
the court challenge.

Adams District Attorney Bob Grant refused to seek a search warrant, forcing
police to go to the Denver district attorney. Grant said the Colorado
Supreme Court ruling sets a higher standard than the one established by the
US Supreme Court.

The ruling will force prosecutors to show a compelling need, as opposed to
just the "substantial and legitimate interest" required in most states,
Grant said.

Prosecutors could still go back to court with more evidence to meet the
higher standard.

Sue Armstrong, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Colorado, said the ruling does not prohibit police from getting records but
sets the bar higher for obtaining a search warrant.

"The court has showed its best face in protecting the rights of privacy for
those of us who visit bookstores," Armstrong said.

Bookstore records became an issue in 1998, during the investigation of
President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Independent counsel
Ken Starr subpoenaed Lewinsky's purchase records from the Washington
bookstore Kramerbooks.

After Kramerbooks challenged the subpoena, Lewinsky's defense team
voluntarily turned over the records.

In another case, a Borders bookstore in Overland Park, Kan., successfully
fought a subpoena issued in a drug investigation for records of how a
customer paid for merchandise.

Investigators were not trying to find out what books the customer had bought.