Jury Orders Sex Video Firm’s Assets Seized : * Courts: It was believed to be the first such seizure in a federal obscenity case. A Los Angeles company was the target of the action by a federal panel in Dallas.

A federal jury has ordered the seizure of more than $10 million in assets from a Los Angeles company that is the nation’s largest distributor of X-rated videos.

The jury ordered the seizure of California Publishers Liquidating Corp. assets--including bank accounts and two warehouses--after it found the firm guilty of shipping obscene cassettes to Dallas.

It was believed to be the first time that a jury had ordered such a seizure in a federal obscenity case. U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders will decide how much of the seized assets will be turned over to the government. He has scheduled a hearing for Aug. 21.

California Publishers Liquidating, two of its subsidiaries and three executives were convicted Tuesday of conspiring to ship obscene videos to Dallas in 1989 and 1990. The defendants have not said whether they will appeal.

The three companies could be fined $1.5 million each and the defendants sentenced to 15 years in jail. The subsidiaries are Video Team Inc. and Investment Enterprises Inc.

“The First Amendment protects every person’s right to speak their mind fully and freely, but it doesn’t protect the individual pornographer from his own greed,” U.S. Atty. Marvin Collins said.

California Publishers distributes $20 million worth of sexually explicit videos annually, according to the Justice Department.

The convictions could mean the end of the adult bookstore business in Dallas, Deputy Police Chief Richard Hatler said. “We believe there’ll be a substantial impact on the stores in town,” he said.

After the verdict, owners of adult bookstores began pulling from their shelves four titles ruled obscene.