STAUNTON, Va. — The obscenity case against After Hours Video and owner Rick Krial starts jury selection at 9:30 Tuesday morning in Staunton Circuit Court.
Coming almost a year after Staunton prosecutor Raymond C. Robertson declared his intent to keep pornography out of the town, the trial concerns 16 felony charges and eight misdemeanors against Krial and his company, as well as 10 obscenity charges, four of which are misdemeanors, against employee Tinsley W. Embrey.
The charges were brought against Krial after undercover police officers purchased a dozen DVDs from After Hours in October of last year. The charges against Embrey came in January of this year.
According to The News Leader, jury selection could take up to two days, with 35 potential jurors expected to arrive Tuesday and an additional 25 on Wednesday if needed. This trial, the Leader said, is scheduled for four days and will only deal with the misdemeanor charges against Krial, Embrey and the company. Seven jurors are required for a misdemeanor trial. The prosecution may only proceed with the felony charges if it obtains convictions on the misdemeanors.
Krial and After Hours are being represented in the case by Paul Cambria Jr., while another of the nation's top First Amendment attorney, Louis Sirkin, will represent Embrey. Robertson will be assisted by obscenity attorney Matthew Bezzello, of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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