University of Virginia Library

University Magazine Removal
Result Of 'Prior Restraint'

Under the recent Albemarle
County obscenity ban, the
University removed seven
magazines from sale in
Newcomb Hall so that
University President Edgar F.
Shannon Jr. would not be
indicted for illegal sale of the
publications, University Legal
Adviser Neill H. Alford Jr. said
yesterday.

Mr. Alford said "we have a
Constitutional issue" in the
ban, but declined further
comment on the matter until a
special grand jury finished its
study yesterday of 24
publications removed from
local magazine stands after a
U.S. Supreme Court decision
leaving determination of
obscenity standards up to local
decision.

The grand jury was
scheduled to study the
magazines yesterday in order
to issue indictments, if they
deemed any of the material
obscene, against local vendors,
for the sales.

"I hope if the grand jury
takes action, we will get
indictments, and have a court
test," Mr. Alford said.

"The issue at hand is
whether a state or a local
standard should determine
obscenity. To my way of
thinking, a state standard
should apply," he said.

He said he requested that
the magazines be removed
from Newcomb "so that my
client (Mr. Shannon and the
Rector and Board of Visitors
of the University) wouldn't be
indicted. I've got to advise my
client to stay out of jail."

Mr. Alford said that the
magazines removed from
Newcomb bookstore are now
under study by the Legal
Adviser's office. Any
determination by the
University of the obscenity of
a magazine will be made on the
state level, he noted.

"We're under prior
restraint," he said, in reference
to the magazines' removal. "The
Commonwealth's Attorney has
said that he will arrest any
vendors of these types of
magazines."

When asked whether there
was any question of the
University's selling the
magazines in competition with
local stores, since the
University is a tax-exempt
institution, Mr. Alford said
only that "there is no problem
now, but that is a potential
problem that we may have to
consider in the future."

"My guess is that not many
of these magazines could be
tied in to the educational
process," he said.