No Shield for Publisher of Murder Text

Setting the stage for a landmark 1st Amendment battle, a U.S. appeals court ruled Monday that a book publisher can be held liable for a triple murder committed by one of its readers.

The 3-0 ruling cleared the way for a damage suit against the Boulder, Colo., publisher of “Hit Man,” an instructional manual for contract killers.

In 1993, a Maryland woman was murdered by a contract killer who used the book. After he was sentenced to death, the woman’s sisters sued the publisher for aiding and abetting the murder.

A federal judge had dismissed the lawsuit, citing the free-speech and free-press guarantees of the 1st Amendment.

But the appeals court based in Richmond, Va., overturned that ruling Monday and decided that a murder manual is not shielded by the Constitution.

The mail-order book had no “legitimate purpose beyond the promotion and teaching of murder,” the appeals court said. “In at least these circumstances, we are confident that the 1st Amendment does not erect the absolute bar to the imposition of civil liability on Paladin Press,” the publishing firm.

The decision, if upheld, also could permit damage suits against the publishers of bomb-making manuals, assassination guides and other books that have been implicated in recent acts of terrorism, including the Oklahoma City bombing. The ruling also could strip the free-speech protection of those who use the Internet to instruct others on how to commit crimes.

Even how-to guides that teach lock-picking or tax-cheating could be subject to legal action if the appeals court ruling stands.

But a lawyer for the publisher said he will appeal to the Supreme Court.

“We are disappointed, but we will seek a review by the Supreme Court,” said Denver attorney Thomas B. Kelly.