During the pendency of this appeal, however, the Legislature amended section 593e, fn. Originally this appeal confronted the courts with the challenge of interpreting and applying section 593e as enacted in 1980. We granted a hearing after the decision of the Court of Appeal. The case was then certified to the Court of Appeal pursuant to rule 62 of the California Rules of Court. The appellate department of the superior court reversed, finding section 593e unconstitutionally vague and overbroad as applied to these defendants. 'įollowing a court trial in Sacramento Municipal Court, defendants Babylon and Hyatt were found guilty of violating section 593e. with the purpose or intention of facilitating interception or decoding of any over-the-air transmission by a subscription television service made pursuant to authority granted by the Federal Communications Commission which is not authorized by the subscription television service is guilty of a misdemeanor. As originally enacted, section 593e provided in pertinent part that 'very person who for profit knowingly and willfully manufactures, distributes, or sells any device. Hendrickson, Deputy District Attorney, for Plaintiff and Respondent.Īlarmed by the increasing 'piracy' of over-the-air subscription television transmissions and the threat it poses to a burgeoning new industry, the Legislature, in 1980, enacted a protective measure, codified as Penal Code section 593e. Dougherty, District Attorney, and George M. (Opinion by Kaus, J., expressing the unanimous view of the court.) HAROLD JOHN BABYLON et al., Defendants and Appellants

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