|
This month's Found in the Archives was researched and written by HRC's summer 2026 intern Khan Iqbal.
 Figure 1 - Paul Peachey vs. “Without Magnolias,” et al. Peachey’s initial petition.
In May of 1963, Virginia attorney Paul Peachey filed a motion in the Fairfax County Circuit Court to temporarily ban the sale or distribution of certain books available in public libraries. He petitioned these books on the grounds of them being too obscene and inappropriate.[1] At the time, Peachey was an independent candidate running for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors with part of his platform championing the removal of books from public places that were obscene and crude in nature.[2] These books included: Without Magnolias by Bucklin Moon, A Month Soon Goes by Storm Jameson, Color Blind by Margaret Halsey, The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie Jr., and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In his petition, Peachey cited title 18.1-236.3, which outlined the definition of “obscenity”, and which allowed for items to be declared as “obscene” in the eyes of the law according to the Code of Virginia, the official law of the state. Peachey’s initial motion to ban these books from sale hoped to achieve their eventual permanent removal.[3]
Alongside his petition, Peachey provided quotes from these works which he thought would reflect their “shameful, filthy, morbid and obscene” nature.[4] This motion was initially dismissed by Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. due to him declaring it outside the jurisdiction of what the court can address as defined by the title Peachy had cited, as it exempted material found in public libraries from the application of statue 18.1-236.3.[5]
 Figure 2 - Paul Peachey vs. The Big Sky. Peachey’s Second Petition.
After this dismissal, Paul Peachey filed an appeal and a statement of facts, arguing that Judge Bryan Jr. had ultimately failed to address whether these books were deemed obscene.[6] Peachey then would go on to refile his motion on the same grounds as his previous case. However, as seen above in his second petition, Peachey provided not only a more comprehensive list of books, but also expanded upon what he considered to be obscene and crude within the works themselves. He stated that these books, “encourage illicit intimacies among children, animals, and persons of different races; that such acts are described in vile gutter talk, shocking to human decency…”[7]
 Figure 3 - Judge Bryan’s note of a “prima facie showing of obscenity.”
Peachey’s petition was once more dismissed by Judge Bryan due to no probable cause believing the books to be obscene being found. Judge Bryan specifically noted that a “Prima Facie” showing of obscenity as defined in the Code of Viriginia is necessary for works to be declared “obscene.” This law noted that a work must be examined as a whole, not have portions taken out of context and be considered outwardly obscene upon examination. The court ultimately found that these books did not meet these criteria and were therefore not outwardly obscene in the eyes of the law.[8] Sec. 18.1-227 was then cited specifically in reference to The Big Sky, A Month Soon Goes, and The Catcher in the Rye. Judge Bryan used this law to battle the assumptions petitioned within the case as the originally quotes cited were taken out of context.
 Figure 4 - Excerpt from The Virginia Observer.
Ultimately, Paul Peachey’s effort to end the sale of these five books was not accepted due to his failure to present the works he had petitioned as outwardly obscene. Judge Bryan also noted that Peachey’s lack of context surrounding submitted quotes failed to provide valid grounds for removal. Peachey’s petition to ban print material within Fairfax County speaks to a larger contemporary trend of “book bans” occurring throughout the state. Efforts to criticize the use of books such as The Catcher in the Rye within public schools were being published in the Virginia Observer.[9] Simultaneously, the editor of the Northern Virginia Sun, Richard E. Vernor, acted as a heavy critic of Peachey’s push for banning books. Vernor questioned Peachey’s logic, arguing that if the quotes are as terrible as they are made out to be, why should the paper be pushed to publish them?[10] Furthermore, the requests of records surrounding Peachey’s case from legal offices, and court systems outside of Fairfax County, emphasize the prominence of Judge Bryan’s decision surrounding a popular issue.[11] Judge Bryan’s dismissal of this case cements the importance of not only context within passing judgements, but also the necessity of complex legal systems such as those present within the Code of Virgina that protect material found within public spaces from attacks and removals.
This case is also featured on our Student Archivist page on the Judicial Learning Center website!
[1] Paul Peachey vs. “Without Magnolias,” et al. Chancery: 18232. 1963. 1.
[2] Vernor, Richard E. Northern Virginia Sun. Volume 26, Number 204. Virginia Chronicle, Library of Virginia. June 3rd,1963. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=NVS19630603.1.4&srpos=1&e=--1963---1963--en-20-NVS-1--txt-txIN-Paul+Peachey--------. 4.
[3] Paul Peachey vs. “Without Magnolias,” et al. Chancery: 18232. 1963. 1.
[4] Paul Peachey vs. “Without Magnolias,” et al. Chancery: 18232. 1963. 1.
[5] Paul Peachey vs. “Without Magnolias,” et al. Chancery: 18232. 1963. 3.
[6] Paul Peachey vs. “Without Magnolias,” et al. Chancery: 18232. 4-5.
[7] Paul Peachey vs. “The Big Sky,” et al. Chancery: 18244. 1963. 2.
[9]King, Margaret C. The Virginia Observer, Vol. 6. No. 4, #118. April 1963. 3-4.
[8] Paul Peachey vs. “The Big Sky,” et al. Chancery: 18244. 1963. 5-6.
[10] Vernor, Richard E. Northern Virginia Sun. Volume 26, Number 204. Virginia Chronicle, Library of Virginia. June 3rd,1963. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=NVS19630603.1.4&srpos=1&e=--1963---1963--en-20-NVS-1--txt-txIN-Paul+Peachey--------. 4.
[11] Green, Nathaniel. University of Wisconsin: Records Request. April 3rd, 1965; Pate, Judy. City of Virginia Beach: Records Request. April 16th, 1980; Weimer, Keith. The History of Book Censorship in Virginia. The Uncommonwealth, 2023. https://uncommonwealth.lva.virginia.gov/blog/2023/10/06/history-of-book-censorship-in-va/.
Green, Nathaniel. University of Wisconsin: Records Request. April 3rd, 1965
King, Margaret C. The Virginia Observer, Vol. 6. No. 4, #118. April 1963.
Pate, Judy. City of Virginia Beach: Records Request. April 16th, 1980
Paul Peachey vs. “The Big Sky,” et al. Chancery: 18244. 1963.
Paul Peachey vs. “Without Magnolias,” et al. Chancery: 18232. 1963
Vernor, Richard E. Northern Virginia Sun. Volume 26, Number 204. Virginia Chronicle, Library of Virginia. June 3rd,1963. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=NVS19630603.1.4&srpos=1&e=--1963---1963--en-20-NVS-1--txt-txIN-Paul+Peachey--------. 4.
Weimer, Keith. The History of Book Censorship in Virginia. The Uncommonwealth, 2023. https://uncommonwealth.lva.virginia.gov/blog/2023/10/06/history-of-book-censorship-in-va/.
The Historic Record Center is joining other local archival repositories at the annual Archives Fair at George Mason University. More info below.
|
