Capri Adult Cinema v. State

I respectfully dissent.

I

The Tennessee obscenity statutes incorporated in Section 39-3001, T.C.A., et seq., as they existed at the time the indictment was returned in this case, were declared unconstitutional and void by this Court in 1974 in Art Theater Guild, Inc. v. State ex rel. Rhodes, 510 S.W.2d 258 (Tenn.1974).1 In plain terms this decision was given both retroactive and prospective application.

Since the convictions in these eases were obtained pursuant to guilty pleas while the old obscenity law was in effect, first consideration must be directed to the validity of a conviction under…