The People of the State of New York v. Charles Kirkpatrick and Peter Dargis, and Peter Martin

Summary

The Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions of two booksellers for selling obscene material, holding that the statutory presumption of knowledge under section 235.10 of the Penal Law is constitutionally valid and that the record contains sufficient evidence to infer scienter, either through the presumption or through the inference of knowledge from possession. A dissent argued that the presumption is unconstitutional and that the trial court relied on it, seeking reversal.