Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Inc. v. McWherter

OPINION

ANDERSON, Justice.

In this case, we are asked to determine a conflict between a citizen’s constitutional right — freedom of speech — and the State’s right to protect minors from harm.

The principal issue before us is whether a Tennessee statute regulating the display of materials deemed “harmful to minors” is facially unconstitutional under the United States and Tennessee Constitutions.

The plaintiffs — booksellers, publishers, and others — argue that the Tennessee display statute is unconstitutional because it unnecessarily impedes the access of adults and older minors to materials which…