Freeman Leroy Bell v. Jimmy N. Harrison, Warden

PHILLIPS, Senior Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from an order dismissing appellant’s habeas corpus petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Appellant contends that Tennessee’s rape shield statute, T.C.A. § 40-2445, which limits the admissi bility of evidence of a rape victim’s prior consensual sexual activity, is unconstitutional both on its face and as applied in his trial.

Appellant was indicted in Shelby County, Tennessee for rape and assault with intent to commit rape. A jury found him guilty of rape and sentenced him to twenty years in the Tennessee State Penitentiary. His conviction was…