New York v. P. J. Video, Inc.
Headline: Rule for seizing allegedly obscene videos is clarified and reversed, allowing warrants based on ordinary probable-cause affidavits and making it easier for police and prosecutors to keep seized tapes as evidence.
Holding: The Court held that warrants to seize materials presumptively protected by the First Amendment must be evaluated under the same ordinary probable-cause standard used for other searches, and that the warrant here was supported.
- Allows police to obtain seizure warrants for allegedly obscene videos using ordinary probable-cause affidavits.
- Reduces requirement that judges personally view films before authorizing seizure.
- Makes it easier for prosecutors to keep seized tapes as admissible evidence.
Summary
Background
A local video-rental store and its owner were charged under New York obscenity law after police seized several videotapes. An investigator rented and watched ten tapes, wrote sworn affidavits describing scenes in five tapes, and a state judge issued a warrant to seize copies from the store. Lower New York courts suppressed the seized tapes, saying the affidavits did not let a judge judge the films as a whole under community standards.
Reasoning
The Supreme Court considered whether a special, higher probable-cause rule applies when materials raise free-speech concerns. The Court said no: warrants to seize items that might be protected by the First Amendment should be judged by the same ordinary probable-cause test used for other searches. Applying that ordinary test (probable cause meaning a fair probability), the Court found the investigator’s detailed affidavits gave the issuing judge enough information to authorize the seizure.
Real world impact
The decision reverses the New York Court of Appeals and allows prosecutors to proceed with the obscenity case. It also makes clear that judges do not have to personally view allegedly obscene films before issuing a warrant if affidavits provide a fair probability of wrongdoing. Because the ruling upholds the warrant rather than resolving guilt, the ultimate criminal outcome still depends on further state-court proceedings.
Dissents or concurrances
Three Justices dissented, arguing the affidavits were mere catalogs of explicit scenes and insufficient to show the films’ overall appeal or lack of serious value, so the New York courts should not have been reversed.
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