Doe v. Sundquist

OPINION

ANDERSON, Chief Justice.

We granted this appeal to decide whether legislation 1 allowing disclosure of sealed adoption records to adopted persons over the age of 21 impairs the vested rights of birth parents who surrendered children under the prior law and thus constitutes retrospective legislation in violation of article I, section 20 of the Tennessee Constitution. We also have considered whether the legislation violates the right to privacy under the Tennessee Constitution.

The trial court dismissed the plaintiffs’ action for injunctive and declaratory relief, holding that the…