Vali Books, Inc. v. Murphy

METZNER, District Judge:

Plaintiff seeks a preliminary injunction ordering the defendants to return various reels of movie film seized on the plaintiff’s premises and restraining the defendants from any future seizures without a preliminary adversary hearing on the issue of obscenity. Jurisdiction is predicated on 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 1343.

As will be later detailed, film was seized on four different occasions by New York City police officers in conjunction with alleged violations of the New York obscenity statute (Penal Law § 235.05). Admittedly, the seizures were not preceded by…