SMITH V. STATE 6 S.W.3d 512 (1999) CASE BRIEF

SMITH V. STATE

6 S.W.3d 512 (1999)

NATURE OF THE CASE: Smith (D) appealed a criminal court order that dismissed her petition for post-conviction relief for incest, claiming that the Tenn. Code Ann. 39-15-302 violated her state constitutional right to privacy.

FACTS: The indictment charged that D was involved in an incestuous relationship with her paternal uncle. D does not deny this relationship. The incestuous relationship began while D was still a minor and continued into her majority. Her uncle was in his midthirties when the relationship began. No children were born as a result of this relationship. D suffers from various psychological disorders and was eighteen years old when charged with this offense. D did not appeal her conviction. D is currently confined in the Tennessee Women's Prison. D filed the present petition for post-conviction relief. As the sole ground for relief, D avers that 'the crime of incest, between consenting adults, in a private and non-commercial setting is unconstitutional under the privacy provisions of the State Constitution and [the court must] set aside her conviction for the same.' D relies upon the Court of Appeals decision in Campbell v. Sundquist, 926 S.W.2d 250, 262 (Tenn. App.) (finding the Homosexual Practices Act unconstitutional), for the proposition that 'an adult's right to engage in consensual and noncommercial sexual activities in the privacy of that adult's home is a matter of intimate personal concern which is at the heart of Tennessee's protection of the right to privacy.'

ISSUE:

RULE OF LAW:

HOLDING AND DECISION:

LEGAL ANALYSIS:

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