LAW In October, a Dallas jury ruled that two X-rated movies shipped to Dallas by a California company violated community standards of decency. Working under a new federal anti-porn law, the jury in Judge BAREFOOT SANDERS’ court voted to seize $10.2 million in assets of California Publishers Liquidating Corp.
But Sanders, while sentencing two of the three convicted defendants to jail time, decided against the forfeiture, saying the Constitution prohibited a multimillion-dollar fine for shipping two $10 tapes. The government is appealing.
El Arnold, president of Dallas Association for Decency (DAD), says Sanders should have recused himself from the case because Sanders is on the board of directors of Industrial Investments Corp., which leases building space to some adult video/book stores. Sanders actually resigned from the board in 1987, but his family continues to own stock in the corporation.
Sanders declined comment, as the case is on appeal, but MARVIN COLLINS, U. S. attorney for the northern district of Texas, says that Sanders’ stock holdings are irrelevant. “I’m not worried or concerned about it. We got a lair trial from Judge Sanders. If it were true, it wouldn’t form the legal basis for disqualification.”
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