Gould

The Case

Plaintiffs-appellants Kenneth Gould, Lewis Kaufman and Maklo Corporation (hereinafter plaintiffs) brought an action in the form of a taxpayer’s suit pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 526a to enjoin defendants-respondents from prosecuting certain obscenity cases brought against them under Penal Code section 311.2 and seeking to have defendants reimburse the city and county for moneys expended in prosecuting the cases.

The plaintiffs named as defendants in the complaint the People of the State of California and certain governmental officers in their official capacities, namely: Joseph P. Busch, District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles; Burt Pines, City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles; Edward Davis, Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles; Peter J. Pitchess, Sheriff of the County of Los Angeles; Alfred J. McCourtney, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles; and Joan Dempsey Klein, Presiding Judge of the Municipal Courts of the Los Angeles Judicial District.

Plaintiffs alleged that they were engaged in the business of printing written and pictorial matter and were charged with a felony, still pending in the…