CBS, INC. v. Superior Court

Petitioner CBS seeks a writ of prohibition commanding the respondent Superior Court of Santa Clara County to set aside its order denying petitioner’s motion to quash the real parties in interests’ subpoena duces tecum for media materials, and to grant the motion.

The procedural background of the case is essentially as follows.

Real parties in interest, David Pollard and John Blackwell (hereinafter defendants), are charged with selling a controlled substance, PCP, commonly known as “Angel Dust,” in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11379.

They caused a subpoena duces tecum to be issued and served on petitioner’s custodian of records to discover certain video tapes, tape recordings and motion pictures of three meetings between the defendants and narcotics officers of the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department on August 12, 1977, between 8 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. These materials had been compiled by CBS pursuant to an agreement with the department to broadcast, as part of the October 23, 1977, “Sixty Minutes” program, a segment regarding the dangers and increase in the use of “Angel Dust.”

As part of the contract the department also agreed to equip two undercover agents…