TATTERED COVER REMAINS CLOSED IN US DRUG CASE

IN a case closely watched by police and civil libertarians, Colorado's
highest court ruled yesterday that The Tattered Cover Bookstore did not
have to give police the name of a customer who bought a "how to" book on
making illegal drugs.

"Because of the strength of other evidence ... and because of the
substantial chilling effects that are likely to result from execution of
the warrant, we hold that the city has failed to demonstrate that its need
for this evidence is sufficiently compelling to outweigh the harmful
effects of the search warrant," the Colorado Supreme Court said.

The case stemmed from a March 2000 raid on a suspected methamphetamine lab
in a trailer home in suburban Denver. During a search, police found the
drug lab as well as handguns and two books, The Construction and Operation
of Clandestine Drug Laboratories and Advanced Techniques of Clandestine
Psychedelic Manufacture.

They also found an envelope from The Tattered Cover and approached
bookstore owner Joyce Meskis with a search warrant for the store's records
to try and link the book purchases to the suspect's name on the mailing
label. Meskis fought the warrant and won a temporary injunction. A district
judge ultimately allowed a limited search of store records.

"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 said in its
51-page order.