Staunton, Virginia- Days after a jury found one of its DVD's to be obscene, the After Hours video store in Staunton is closed; but owners plan to re-open, possibly as soon as today.
Right after the split verdicts in last Friday's obscenity trial, the owner of After Hours closed his doors. The attorney for Rick Krial says the store needed time to go through the movies it sells, and determine which ones fit within Staunton's community standards.
At the now infamous After Hours video store, the parking lot is empty the doors locked the neon sign dark. But a small, hand written note promises a reopening after the store is re-stocked.
In the trial, the jury viewed a pair of DVD's and found one of them, "Sugar Britches", was not obscene, but a second, edgier movie was. The attorney for owner Rick Krial says his client is going through thousands of DVDs to weed out legally offensive titles. Prosecutors say that is an impossible task.
Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Robertson said, "I think he's kidding himself. I think he'd have to go through each and every one of them with a fine tooth comb. And I don't think there are that many movies out there that would qualify as not being obscene."
Robertson is confident that the jury's verdicts will be upheld, even on appeal. He has gotten pressure from critics who say the case was a waste of time and taxpayer money but Robertson says federal assistance and expert testimony came without charge.
"The fines and the costs that this defendant will have to pay far outweigh the expenses on behalf of the commonwealth, people just need to know that," he stated.
Both sides in the Staunton obscenity trial will argue before a judge this fall and he'll decide whether to enter the jury's verdicts. If he does, After Hours could lose its license to operate an adult business.
