STAUNTON, Virginia — Cameras of all kinds will be barred from the courtroom during the obscenity trials of an adult video store owner and a store clerk, Judge Thomas H. Wood has ruled.

The decision, signed Monday, denies a request by The News Leader and WVIR-TV from Charlottesville to have individual or pool cameras in the courtroom during the proceedings.

In his letter, the judge said, “The Commonwealth’s Attorney and all defense attorneys in the case object to the presence of cameras of any kind.”

He said it is his policy to deny camera requests when the lawyers object. Virginia courtroom procedures give judges wide latitude in deciding whether to allow cameras in the courtroom.

In October, within two weeks of the opening of the Springhill Road adult business, undercover agents from the Staunton and Waynesboro police departments, along with plainclothes officers from the Virginia State Police, posed as customers and purchased a number of DVDs. Weeks later,
a special grand jury convened and charged owner Rick Krial and his company with 16 felonies and eight misdemeanor charges of obscenity.

In January, an employee at After Hours Video also was charged with
six felony counts of obscenity.