Opinion of The Court
In a per curiam decision issued on November 17, 1975, the Court found that the statute was not vague, and, furthermore, Defendant could not claim that he was afforded no notice that his conduct might be within the statute's scope.
The Court rejected Defendant's arguments, stating that the Tennessee statute's proscription encompassed the act of cunnilingus. As early as 1955, Tennessee had expressly rejected a claim that "crime against nature" did not cover fellatio, repudiating those jurisdictions which had taken a narrow restrictive definition of the offense. Four years later, the Tennessee Supreme Court was quoted as saying that "the prohibition brings all unnatural copulation with mankind or a beast, including sodomy, within its scope."
Furthermore, other jurisdictions had already reasonably construed identical statutory language to apply to such acts. And given the Tennessee court's clear pronouncements that its statute was intended to effect broad coverage, there was nothing to indicate, clearly or otherwise, that respondent's acts were outside the scope of "crimes against nature."
Therefore, the statute was not vague, and Defendant's motion was denied.
Read more about this topic: Rose V. Locke
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