State v. Piepenburg

HALL, Justice:

Defendant appeals from his conviction of violating Utah’s obscenity statute. 1 He was sentenced to six months in jail with three months suspended and the sentence was stayed pending this appeal.

On May 25, 1977, three films were seized from the Gallery Theatre pursuant to a search warrant and defendant was arrested. The warrant was issued by a magistrate who based his order on the detailed description of the films as contained in a police officer’s affidavit. Although defendant claims he had previously terminated his relationship with the theatre, he was at the theatre when the…