Louisiana Constitution right to privacy held to protect consensua l oral sex

[Volokh, Eugene]

        State v. Smith, 1999 WL 74614 (La. App. Feb. 9), holds that the
1974 Louisiana Constitution's right to privacy -- "Every person shall be
secure in his person, property, communications, houses, papers, and
effects against unreasonable searches, seizures, or invasions of
privacy" -- protects "the right of consenting adults to engage in
private non-commercial sexual activity, free from governmental
interference."  1999 WL 74614, *6.  The court doesn't go into much
detail in explaining why this is so.


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Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law School, 405 Hilgard Ave., L.A., CA 90095