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E X P A R T E C H R I S T O P H E R D O W D E N

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F R O M C A U S E N O

. 1 3 0 0 8 8 6

- A I N T H E 3 3 7 T H D I S T R I C T C O U R T

H A R R I S C O U N T Y

Y E A R Y

, J

. , f

i l e d a d i s s e n t i n g o p i n i o n i n w h i c h K E L L E R

, P

. J

. , j o i n e d

.

D I S S E N T I N G O P I N I O N

W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e i s s u e u p o n w h i c h w e f i l e d a n d s e t t h e s e p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n

a p p l i c a t i o n s f

o r w r i t o f h a b e a s c o r p u s

, b r o u g h t u n d e r t h e a u s p i c e s o f A r t i c l e 1 1

. 0 7 o f t h e

T e x a s C o d e o f C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e

, I a g r e e w i t h t h e m a j o r i t y o p i n i o n t o d a y

. F o r t h e r e a s o n sFour nier & Dowden — 2

s t a t e d i n t h a t o p i n i o n

, A p p l i c a n t s a r e n o t e n t i t l e d t o r e l i e f o n t h e b a s i s o f a c l a i m o f “ a c t u a l

i n n o c e n c e

. ”

I n e v e r t h e l e s s d i s s e n t t o t h e C o u r t ’ s u l t i m a t e d i s p o s i t i o n o f t h e s e c a s e s

. O n t h e

s t r e n g t h o f E

x p a r t e C h a n c e

, 4 3 9 S

. W

. 3 d 9 1 8 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 1 4 )

, t h e C o u r t g r a n t s

A p p l i c a n t s r e l i e f b a s e d u p o n i t s e a r l i e r d e c l a r a t i o n

, i n E x p a r t e L o

, t h a t t h e s t a t u t e u p o n

w h i c h t h e i r c o n v i c t i o n s w e r e b a s e d w a s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l o n i t s f a c e

, a s o v e r b r o a d

. 4 2 4

S

. W

. 3 d 1 0 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 1 3 )

. B u t t h e C o u r t ’ s p e r c u r i a m o p i n i o n i n C h a n c e d i d n o t

e x p l a i n w h y t h e h o l d i n g i n L o s h o u l d a p p l y t o n u l l i f y c o n v i c t i o n s t h a t w e r e a l r e a d y f i n a l b y

t h e t i m e L o w a s d e c i d e d

. B e c a u s e I w o u l d h e s i t a t e t o g i v e L o r e t r o a c t i v e e f f e c t

, I d i s s e n t

.

T h e G e n e r a l R u l e

O r d i n a r i l y

, t o e s t a b l i s h t h a t a l e g i s l a t i v e e n a c t m e n t i s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l o n i t s f a c e

, a

l i t i g a n t “ m u s t e s t a b l i s h t h a t n o s e t o f c i r c u m s t a n c e s e x i s t s u n d e r w h i c h t h e [ c h a l l e n g e d

s t a t u t e ] w o u l d b e v a l i d

. ” U n i t e d S t a t e s v

. S a l e r n o

, 4 8 1 U

. S

. 7 3 9

, 7 4 5 ( 1 9 8 7 )

. W i t h t h a t

c o n c e p t a s a s t a r t i n g p o i n t

, T e x a s h a s l o n g r e c o g n i z e d “ t h e g e n e r a l r u l e ” t h a t a n

u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a t u t e “ i s v o i d f r o m i t s i n c e p t i o n [

. ] ” R e y e s v

. S t a t e

, 7 5 3 S

. W

. 2 d 3 8 2

, 3 8 3

( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 8 8 )

. W h e n a n a p p e l l a t e c o u r t h a s r u l e d a s t a t u t e f a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l

,

t h e c o u r t h a s “ n o t a n n u l [ e d ] t h e s t a t u t e

, f o r i t w a s a l r e a d y l i f

e l e s s

. I t h a d b e e n f

a t a l l y s m i t t e n

b y t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a t i t s b i r t h

. ” I d

. ( c i t i n g E

x p a r t e B o c k h o r n

, 1 3 8 S

. W

. 7 0 6

, 7 0 7 ( T e x

.

C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 1 1 )

, w h i c h i n t u r n q u o t e d B o a l e s v

. F e r g u s o n

, 7 6 N

. W

. 1 8

, 1 9 ( 1 8 9 8 ) )

. S e e

a l s o 1 2 B T e x

. J u r

. 3 d

, C o n s t

. L a w

, § 5 7 ( 2 0 1 2 )

, a t 9 7

- 9 9 ; 1 6 A A m

. J u r

. , C o n s t

. L a w

, § 1 9 5 ( 2 dFour nier & Dowden — 3

e d

. 2 0 0 9 )

, a t 6 1

- 6 4

. S t a t e d a n o t h e r w a y :

A n a c t t h a t h a s b e e n d e c l a r e d u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i s

, i n l e g a l c o n t e m p l a t i o n

, a s

i n o p e r a t i v e a s t h o u g h i t h a d n e v e r b e e n p a s s e d o r w r i t t e n

, a n d i t i s r e g a r d e d a s

i n v a l i d

, o r v o i d

, f

r o m t h e d a t e o f

e n a c t m e n t ( n o t o n l y f

r o m t h e d a t e o n w h i c h

i t w a s j u d i c i a l l y d e c l a r e d u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l ) a n d a t a l l t i m e s t h e r e a f t e r

.

1 6 C o r p u s J u r i s S e c u n d u m

, C o n s t

. L a w § 2 6 5 ( 2 0 1 5 )

, a t 3 3 3

. 1

G i v e n t h i s g e n e r a l r u l e

— t h a t a n u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a t u t e i s i n o p e r a b l e “ f r o m i t s

i n c e p t i o n ”

— i t m a y s e e m r e d u n d a n t o r e v e n p o i n t l e s s t o e n g a g e i n a n a n a l y s i s o f r e t r o a c t i v i t y

o f t h e j u d i c i a l d e c i s i o n t h a t d e c l a r e d t h e s t a t u t e t o b e u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l

. A f t e r a l l

, i t w a s n o t

t h e j u d i c i a l d e c i s i o n t h a t n u l l i f i e d t h e s t a t u t e ; t h e s t a t u t e w a s s t i l l b o r n

. A n y a n a l y s i s o f

r e t r o a c t i v i t y w o u l d s u r e l y r e s u l t i n a c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e j u d i c i a l o p i n i o n r e c o g n i z i n g t h e

f a c i a l u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y o f a p e n a l s t a t u t e s h o u l d b e a p p l i e d r e t r o a c t i v e l y

. T h u s

, a n y t i m e

a p e n a l s t a t u t e i s d e c l a r e d f a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l

— a t l e a s t i n t h e u s u a l s e n s e t h a t i t i s

i n v a l i d u n d e r s o m e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e i n a l l o f i t s a p p l i c a t i o n s

— i t w o u l d m a k e s e n s e

t o h o l d t h e o p i n i o n d e c l a r i n g t h e f a c i a l u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y o f t h e p e n a l p r o v i s i o n t o a p p l y t o

a n y a n d e v e r y i n d i v i d u a l e v e r c o n v i c t e d u n d e r t h a t p r o v i s i o n

, i n t h e f u t u r e a n d i n t h e p a s t

.

E x p a r t e C h a n c e

I n E x p a r t e C h a n c e

, t h i s C o u r t a p p a r e n t l y f o l l o w e d t h e g e n e r a l r u l e a n d g a v e

“This rule, howeve r, i s not without ex ception.” Lapasnick v. Stat e

, 784 S.W .2d 366, 368 1

(Tex. Crim. App. 1990) . “[C] ourts may make e x ceptions to the g ener al rule w here , beca use of the

nature of the statute and its previous application, unjust results would acc rue to those who justifiably

relied on it.” 16A Am.J ur., Const. L aw, § 196 (2d ed. 2009), at 64. See also 12B Tex.J ur.3d, Const.

L aw, § 57 (2012), at 98 (citing Lapasnick ); 16 Corpus J uris Secundum, Const. L aw, § 265 (2015),

at 334.Four nier & Dowden — 4

r e t r o a c t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n t o o u r d e c i s i o n i n E x p a r t e L o

. S e e 4 3 9 S

. W

. 3 d a t 9 2 1 ( C o c h r a n

, J

. ,

c o n c u r r i n g ) ( “ W e f

o l l o w t h i s ‘ v o i d a b i n i t i o ’ c o n c e p t

. ” )

. B u t i n t h a t c a s e

, a s i n t h i s o n e

, t h i s

C o u r t f a i l e d t o e n t e r t a i n o r e x a m i n e t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r a n a p p e l l a t e d e c i s i o n d e c l a r i n g

a p e n a l s t a t u t e t o b e u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l u n d e r t h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t ’ s s u b s t a n t i a l o v e r b r e a d t h

d o c t r i n e o u g h t t o b e g i v e n f u l l y r e t r o a c t i v e e f

f e c t

. T o b e f

a i r

, i t i s t r u e t h a t n o l i t i g a n t h a s a s

y e t a t t e m p t e d t o r a i s e t h a t q u e s t i o n b e f o r e u s

.

T h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t S u b s t a n t i a l O v e r b r e a d t h D o c t r i n e

I b e l i e v e i t i m p o r t a n t t o r e c o g n i z e t h a t t h e o r d i n a r y r u l e

— r e q u i r i n g t h a t a l i t i g a n t

c h a l l e n g i n g a l e g i s l a t i v e e n a c t m e n t a s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l o n i t s f a c e “ m u s t e s t a b l i s h t h a t n o s e t

o f c i r c u m s t a n c e s e x i s t s u n d e r w h i c h t h e [ c h a l l e n g e d s t a t u t e ] w o u l d b e v a l i d [

, ] ” S a l e r n o

, 4 8 1

U

. S

. a t 7 4 5

— d o e s n o t a p p l y t o F i r s t A m e n d m e n t o v e r b r e a d t h c h a l l e n g e s

. A p e n a l p r o v i s i o n

d o e s n o t h a v e t o b e u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i n a l l o f i t s a p p l i c a t i o n s i n o r d e r f o r a n a p p e l l a t e c o u r t

t o d e c l a r e i t f

a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l u n d e r t h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t ’ s o v e r b r e a d t h d o c t r i n e

.

I n d e e d

, t h a t c r i m i n a l d e f e n d a n t ’ s o w n F i r s t A m e n d m e n t r i g h t s m a y r e m a i n u n s c a t h e d b y t h e

i n d i c t m e n t a n d p r o s e c u t i o n a g a i n s t h i m

, a n d y e t h e m a y s t i l l h a v e s t a n d i n g t o o b t a i n a r u l i n g

t h a t t h e p e n a l s t a t u t e u n d e r w h i c h h e i s c h a r g e d i s f a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l “ i f i t p r o h i b i t s a

s u b s t a n t i a l a m o u n t o f p r o t e c t e d s p e e c h j u d g e d i n r e l a t i o n t o [ i t s ] p l a i n l y l e g i t i m a t e s w e e p

. ”

E x p a r t e L o

, 4 2 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 1 8 ( q u o t i n g V i r g i n i a v

. H i c k

s

, 5 3 9 U

. S

. 1 1 3

, 1 1 8

- 1 9 ( 2 0 0 3 ) )

. A s

T e x a s J u r i s p r u d e n c e 3 d d e s c r i b e s t h i s a s p e c t o f t h e s o

- c a l l e d “ s u b s t a n t i a l o v e r b r e a d t h

d o c t r i n e ” :Four nier & Dowden — 5

O r d i n a r i l y

, a p e r s o n m a y n o t c h a l l e n g e a s t a t u t e o n t h e g r o u n d t h a t i t

m i g h t b e a p p l i e d u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s o t h e r t h a n t h o s e d i r e c t l y

b e f o r e t h e c o u r t

. I n t h e a r e a o f F i r s t A m e n d m e n t f r e e d o m s

, h o w e v e r

, a n o v e r l y

b r o a d s t a t u t e m a y s e r v e t o c h i l l t h e e x e r c i s e o f p r o t e c t e d r i g h t s

, a n d a n a t t a c k

o n s u c h a s t a t u t e w i l l b e a l l o w e d w i t h o u t r e q u i r i n g t h a t t h e p e r s o n m a k i n g t h e

a t t a c k d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t h i s o r h e r s p e c i f i c c o n d u c t i s p r o t e c t e d

. T h u s

, a s l o n g

a s a c a s e o r c o n t r o v e r s y e x i s t s

, a l i t i g a n t w h o s e o w n a c t i v i t i e s a r e u n p r o t e c t e d

m a y c h a l l e n g e a s t a t u t e b y s h o w i n g t h a t i t s u b s t a n t i a l l y a b r i d g e s t h e F i r s t

A m e n d m e n t r i g h t s o f o t h e r p a r t i e s n o t b e f o r e t h e c o u r t

. I n o t h e r w o r d s

, e v e n

t h o u g h a s t a t u t e o r o r d i n a n c e m a y b e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y a p p l i e d t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s

o f a p a r t i c u l a r d e f

e n d a n t

, t h a t d e f

e n d a n t m a y c h a l l e n g e t h e s t a t u t e o n t h e b a s i s

o f o v e r b r e a d t h i f i t i s s o d r a w n a s t o s w e e p w i t h i n i t s a m b i t p r o t e c t e d s p e e c h

o r e x p r e s s i o n o f o t h e r s p e r s o n s n o t b e f o r e t h e c o u r t

. L i t i g a n t s a r e p e r m i t t e d t o

c h a l l e n g e a s t a t u t e o n F i r s t A m e n d m e n t g r o u n d s n o t b e c a u s e t h e i r o w n r i g h t s

o f f r e e e x p r e s s i o n a r e v i o l a t e d

, b u t b e c a u s e o f a j u d i c i a l p r e d i c t i o n o r

a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e s t a t u t e ’ s e x i s t e n c e m a y c a u s e o t h e r s n o t b e f o r e t h e c o u r t

t o r e f r a i n f r o m c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y p r o t e c t e d s p e e c h o r e x p r e s s i o n

.

1 2 B T e x

. J u r

. 3 r d

, C o n s t

. L a w

, § 4 0 ( 2 0 1 2 )

, a t 6 9

- 7 0

. S e e a l s o 1 6 A A m

. J u r

. , C o n s t

. L a w

, § §

4 2 8

- 3 0 ( 2 d e d

. 2 0 0 9 )

, a t 3 6 9

- 3 7 7 ; 1 6 B C o r p u s J u r i s S e c u n d u m

, C o n s t

. L a w

, § 9 6 2 ( 2 0 1 5 )

,

a t 9 0

- 9 3

.

I s a S u b s t a n t i a l l y O v c r b r o a d S t a t u t e “ V o i d A b I n i t i o ” ?

B u t i s a n o v e r b r o a d s t a t u t e

— f a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l o n l y i n t h e v i c a r i o u s s e n s e t h a t

i t t e n d s t o “ c h i l l ” t h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t r i g h t s o f o t h e r s n o t i n v o l v e d i n t h e l i t i g a t i o n

— “ v o i d

a b i n i t i o ” i n t h e s a m e w a y t h a t a s t a t u t e t h a t i s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i n a l l o f i t s a p p l i c a t i o n s m a y

b e s a i d t o b e “ v o i d a b i n i t i o ” ? A s a l r e a d y e x p l a i n e d

, t h e b u r d e n o f p r o o f i n a F i r s t

A m e n d m e n t o v e r b r e a t h a c t i o n i s l e s s t h a n i n a n o r d i n a r y f a c i a l c h a l l e n g e t o t h e

c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y o f a s t a t u t e

. W h e n t h a t b u r d e n h a s b e e n m e t

, a j u d i c i a l f i n d i n g o f f

a c i a l

u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y f

o r F i r s t A m e n d m e n t o v e r b r e a d t h a l s o c o n s t i t u t e s l e s s t h a n a f i n d i n g t h a tFour nier & Dowden — 6

t h e r e i s n o c o n c e i v a b l e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e l a w c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e

C o n s t i t u t i o n

. U n d e r t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s

, i t i s b e y o n d d i s p u t e t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r d e f e n d a n t w h o

w a s c o n v i c t e d f

o r a v i o l a t i o n o f t h e s t a t u t e

, a n d w h o s e c o n v i c t i o n b e c a m e f i n a l b e f o r e t h e

p e n a l s t a t u t e w a s d e c l a r e d u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l m e r e l y f o r o v e r b r e a d t h

, m a y v e r y w e l l h a v e

c o m m i t t e d c o n d u c t t h a t f e l l w i t h i n t h e “ p l a i n l y l e g i t i m a t e s w e e p ” o f t h e o v e r b r o a d s t a t u t e

.

T h e C o u r t h a s n e v e r t h e l e s s d e t e r m i n e d

, u n d e r o u r e x i s t i n g p r e c e d e n t

, t h a t p r e

- e x i s t i n g

, f i n a l

,

a n d p r e s u m p t i v e l y v a l i d c o n v i c t i o n s u n d e r t h e s t a t u t e m u s t a l s o b e a u t o m a t i c a l l y a n d

u n c r i t i c a l l y n u l l i f

i e d

. B u t I a m n o t p e r s u a d e d t h a t w e m u s t g o t h a t f a r

. I n f a c t

, I b e l i e v e t h a t

t o d o s o c o n s t i t u t e s a n u n n e c e s s a r y a n d u n a c c e p t a b l e w i n d f a l l t o t h o s e d e f

e n d a n t s

.

T o a c e r t a i n e x t e n t

, o f c o u r s e

, t h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t o v e r b r e a d t h d o c t r i n e i n e v i t a b l y

c r e a t e s w i n d f

a l l s

. O n c e a n a p p e l l a t e c o u r t h a s d e c l a r e d a p e n a l p r o v i s i o n u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y

o v e r b r o a d

, n o i n d i v i d u a l m a y b e p r o s e c u t e d u n d e r t h a t p r o v i s i o n f r o m t h a t p o i n t o n

, e v e n

i f t h e i n d i v i d u a l ’ s c o n d u c t f a l l s w e l l w i t h i n t h e s t a t u t e ’ s p l a i n l y l e g i t i m a t e s w e e p

. I n f a c t

,

i n d i v i d u a l s w i l l b e f

r e e t o c o m m i t t h a t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y a c t i o n a b l e c o n d u c t w i t h i m p u n i t y u n t i l

s u c h t i m e a s t h e L e g i s l a t u r e m a y p r o s c r i b e i t o n c e a g a i n i n a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y t o l e r a b l e

s t a t u t e

. T h i s p r o s p e c t i v e w i n d f a l l i s j u s t i f

i e d b y t h e f

a c t t h a t

, b e f

o r e i t m a y b e d e c l a r e d 2

f a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l

, t h e p e n a l s t a t u t e m u s t b e s a i d t o r e a c h p r o t e c t e d c o n d u c t a t a r a t e

f a r e x c e e d i n g i t s “ p l a i n l y l e g i t i m a t e s w e e p

. ” T h e a d m i t t e d l y “ s t r o n g m e d i c i n e ” o f s t r i k i n g

This, of course

, assumes that the same conduct is not also subject to prosec ution pursuant 2

to some other valid statute.Four nier & Dowden — 7

d o w n a s t a t u t e t h a t h a s s o m e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a p p l i c a t i o n s

, E x p a r t e T h o m p s o n

, 4 4 2 S

. W

. 3 d

3 2 5

, 3 4 9 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 1 4 )

, i s t h u s n e c e s s a r y t o a l l e v i a t e i t s s u b s t a n t i a l “ c h i l l i n g ”

e f f e c t o n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y p r o t e c t e d c o n d u c t

. T h e q u e s t i o n i s

, a t w h a t p o i n t i s t h e m e d i c i n e

t o o s t r o n g ?

A d e f e n d a n t f i n a l l y c o n v i c t e d p u r s u a n t t o a s t a t u t e t h a t i s f o u n d o n l y t o b e

c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y o v e r b r o a d i s u n l i k e a d e f e n d a n t w h o w a s c o n v i c t e d p u r s u a n t t o a s t a t u t e t h a t

h a s n o c o n c e i v a b l e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a p p l i c a t i o n s

. T h e f o r m e r d e f

e n d a n t m a y w e l l h a v e

c o m m i t t e d a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y a c t i o n a b l e o f f e n s e u n d e r a s t a t u t e t h a t d i d n o t e v e n r e m o t e l y

i m p i n g e u p o n h i s F i r s t A m e n d m e n t r i g h t s

. C o n s e q u e n t l y

, r e t r o a c t i v e l y d e c l a r i n g h i s

c o n v i c t i o n v o i d a b i n i t i o w o u l d s e e m a r g u a b l y t o b e n e i t h e r n e c e s s a r y n o r j u s t

. D e c l a r i n g t h e

s t a t u t e i n v a l i d p r o s p e c t i v e l y a n d e n j o i n i n g t h e f

u t u r e e n f o r c e m e n t o f t h e l a w

, i t s e e m s t o m e

,

m i g h t b e m o r e t h a n s u f f i c i e n t t o s a t i s f

y t h e i n t e r e s t s a n d g o a l s o f t h e o v e r b r e a d t h

d o c t r i n e

— t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e c o n t i n u e d e n f o r c e m e n t o f t h e o v e r b r o a d l a w w i l l n o t c h i l l t h e

c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y p r o t e c t e d e x p r e s s i o n o f o t h e r s

.

T h e r e s e e m s t o b e l i t t l e r e a s o n t o d o u b t t h a t t h e p r o s p e c t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n o f a j u d i c i a l

d e c i s i o n d e c l a r i n g a p e n a l p r o v i s i o n t o b e o v e r b r o a d i s s t r o n g e n o u g h

. T h e s t a t u t e h a s b e e n 3

Acc ording to the United States Supreme C o u rt

, a defe ndant whose conviction is alre ady 3

final at the t ime of t he announcement of a new rule may not ordinarily av ai l h i m s el f of the newly

announce d rule. See Teague v. Lane

, 489 U.S. 288, 310 (1989). This rule might also be appropr iately

applied in case s such as these, when this Court decide s that a law is overbr oad in violation of the

First Amendment. Of course

, even if we wer e to apply the new rule doctrine, there may also be some

number of other case s, also p ending at differ ent stag es of litigation at the time of the Court’s

deter minatio n

, t h at m ight need to be given the benef it of t he new rule as well. See e.g., Gri ffith v.Four nier & Dowden — 8

s t r u c k d o w n a n d m a y n o t b e u s e d i n t h e f u t u r e t o p r o s e c u t e e v e n t h o s e o f f e n d e r s w h o s e

c o n d u c t w a s n o t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y p r o t e c t e d

. T h i s s h o u l d s u f f i c e t o e n a b l e t h e c o u r t s t o a l e r t

t h e L e g i s l a t u r e o f t h e n e e d t o f i n e

- t u n e t h e s t a t u t e w i t h o u t s e e m i n g u n d u l y c r i t i c a l o f o u r c o

e q u a l b r a n c h

— o r

, w o r s e

, p u n i t i v e

.

W h a t e v e r i n c r e m e n t a l v a l u e r e t r o a c t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n m a y h a v e t o a l l e v i a t e t h e c h i l l i n g

e f f e c t o f t h e o v e r b r o a d s t a t u t e d o e s n o t s e e m t o m e t o b e w o r t h t h e s o c i e t a l c o s t o f

e x o n e r a t i n g a n y n u m b e r o f o f f e n d e r s w h o s e c o n d u c t w a s l e g i t i m a t e l y

— i f

i n a r t f u l l y

— p r o s c r i b e d

. T h e w i n d f a l l t h a t i n e v i t a b l y f

l o w s f r o m j u d i c i a l l y d e c l a r i n g a n

o v e r b r o a d p e n a l p r o v i s i o n t o b e f a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l n e e d n o t e x t e n d s o f a r a s t o a p p l y

r e t r o a c t i v e l y t o g r a n t h a b e a s c o r p u s r e l i e f t o a p p l i c a n t s w h o h a v e s u f f e r e d n o F i r s t

A m e n d m e n t i n f

r a c t i o n t h e m s e l v e s

. 4

Kentucky

, 479 U.S. 314, 328 (1987) (explaining, “a new rule for t h e co n d u ct of criminal

prosec utions is to be applied retroa ctively to all case s, state or fede ral, pending on direc t r eview or

not y et final, with no exception f or case s in w hich the new rule constitutes a ‘cle ar br eak’ with the

past.”). Howeve r, the full extent to which the o v er b re adth decision would need to be extended to

other case s in var y i n g s tag es of litigation and not y et final does not need to be decide d today

.

I am awa re of the various opinions in Massachusetts v. Oake s

, 491 U.S. 756 (1989). I n that 4

case

, the United States Supreme Court g rante d cer tiorari solely to revie w whether a particula r state

statute was substantially overbr oad. But the Court was ultimately unable to rea ch ag ree ment on that

issue. I nstead, a plurality of the Court simply announce d that it would not addre ss the question afte r

all beca use the Massac husetts L eg islature had subsequently amende d the statute in such a way as to

cure any potential overbr eadth. The plurality observe d:

Over brea dth is a judicially cre ated doctrine desig ned to preve n t t h e ch i lling of

protec ted expression. An overbr oad statute is not void ab initio, but rathe r voidable,

subject t o invalidation notwithstanding the defe ndant’s unprotected c onduct out of

solicitude to the First Amendment rig hts of parties not befor e the court. Be cause theFour nier & Dowden — 9

T h i s i s a n a r g u m e n t t h a t n e i t h e r t h e C o u r t n o r J u d g e C o c h r a n i n h e r c o n c u r r i n g

specia l conce rn that animates the overbr eadth doctrine is no longe r prese nt afte r the

amendment or repe al of the challeng ed statute, we need not extend the benef its of the

doctrine to a

defe ndant whose c onduct is not protected.

Id

. at 584. Thus, the plurality in Oake s would take the occa sion of the amendment of an overbr oad

statute as a justifica tion for fa iling eve r to pass on the que stion of its facial constitutionality

.

Five justices disag ree d with this view, howeve r, joining that part of J ustice Scalia’s opinion

that dissented to the plurality ’s fa ilure to rea ch the mer its of the overbr eadth question. I n fac t, tha t

was the only fac et of the case that g arne red a majority

. Be cause J ustice Scalia and one other justice

believed that the pre- amendment statute was n o t unconstitutionally overbr oad, they provided the

nece ssary votes to rema

nd the ca s e for deter

mination of Oake s’s as-a pplied challeng e to the preamendment statute.

J ustice S calia’ s reje ction of the plura lity ’s view that a n overbr eadth a

naly sis should not be

underta ken at all once a statute has been amende d does not apply with near ly the same forc e to the

quest i o n p re s en ted in this case : whether a decision decla ring a statute to be overbr oad should be

applied re troac tively . J ustice Scalia a rg ues:

I f the promulg ation of overbr oad laws was cost fre e, as the plurality ’s new doctrine

would make it—that is, if no conviction of constitutionally proscr ibable conduct

would be lost, so lo n g as the offe nding statute was narr owed befor e the final

appea l—then leg islatures would have signific antly reduc ed incentive to stay within

constitutional bounds in the first place

. When one takes acc ount of those overbr oad

statutes that are never challeng ed, and of the time that elapse s befor e the ones that are

challeng ed are amende d to come within constitutional bounds, a substantial amount

of leg itimate speec h would be “chilled” as a conse q u en ce o f the rule the plurality

would adopt.

The same criticism cannot fairly be leveled ag ainst the arg ument that retroa ctive application of the

overbr ea d t h doctrine is unnece ssary

. I n Oake s

, the plurality reg arde d the overbr eadth question as

moot and ref

used to rea ch it at all

. By contra st, this Court has in fac t decla red the statute at issue in

Lo to be facially unconstitutional on the basis t hat it is subst antially overbr oad. S uch a statute can

have no leg itimate prospec tive application, and the judicial decla ration that it is invalid may well be

retroa ctively applied to any case still pending on direc t appea l. I t can no longe r opera te to chill

leg itimate speec h, and its remova l from the books for any future purpose should serve as incentive

enoug h for the L eg islature to take better car e not to draf t statutes that are insufficiently solicitous of

First Amendment rig hts. The i n cr emental value of also apply ing it retroa ctively to unrave l final

convictions for c onstitut ionally un protec ted conduc t seems to me not worth the c andle.Four nier & Dowden — 10

o p i n i o n a d d r e s s e d b e f

o r e g r a n t i n g r e l i e f i n E

x p a r t e C h a n c e

. T h e C o u r t s e e m s i n s t e a d t o

h a v e u n c r i t i c a l l y a p p l i e d t h e g e n e r a l r u l e t h a t a f a c i a l l y u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a t u t e i s “ v o i d a b

i n i t i o ” w i t h o u t p a u s i n g t o a s k w h e t h e r t h e g e n e r a l r u l e o u g h t t o a p p l y i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e

F i r s t A m e n d m e n t s u b s t a n t i a l o v e r b r e a d t h d o c t r i n e

. I n d e e d

, w i t h o u t m i s s i n g a s t e p

, w e p e r s i s t

i n d o i n g s o i n t h e s e c a s e s a s w e l l

. I b e l i e v e t h e C o u r t s h o u l d t a k e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y n o w t o

o r d e r b r i e f

i n g o n t h e i s s u e

. A t l e a s t t h e n

, w e c o u l d g i v e t h e m a t t e r i t s d u e c o n s i d e r a t i o n

.

B e c a u s e w e d o n o t

, I c a n n o t j o i n t h e C o u r t ’ s o p i n i o n

.

C o n c l u s i o n

O n c e a s t a t u t e h a s b e e n j u d i c i a l l y r e c o g n i z e d a s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y o v e r b r o a d

, t h a t

n e w r u l e s h o u l d b e g i v e n p r o s p e c t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n

. I w o u l d n o t b e a v e r s e

, i n c a s e s w h e r e i t i s

a p p r o p r i a t e

, t o r e t r o a c t i v e l y g r a n t p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n h a b e a s c o r p u s r e l i e f a s w e l l

— b u t w e

s h o u l d c o n s i d e r w h e t h e r w e s h o u l d l i m i t p o s t

- c o n v i c t i o n r e l i e f t o t h o s e a p p l i c a n t s w h o c a n

e s t a b l i s h t h a t t h e i r c o n d u c t d i d n o t f a l l w i t h i n t h e p l a i n l y l e g i t i m a t e s w e e p o f t h e o v e r b r o a d

s t a t u t e

. I w o u l d o r d e r b r i e f i n g o n t h i s i s s u e

. A p p l i c a n t s t o d a y h a v e m a d e n o s h o w i n g t h a t t h e

s t a t u t e t h a t w e s t r u c k d o w n i n L o w a s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a s i t a p p l i e d t o t h e i r c o n d u c t

. W i t h o u t

s u c h a s h o w i n g

, I a m r e l u c t a n t t o e x t e n d t o t h e m t h e b e n e f i t o f a r e t r o a c t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n o f

E x p a r t e L o

. B e c a u s e t h e C o u r t p e r s i s t s i n d o i n g s o

— i n t h e s e

, a n d m a n y o t h e r

c a s e s

— w i t h o u t e v e r c o n s i d e r i n g o r a d d r e s s i n g

, m u c h l e s s e x p l a i n i n g

, w h y i t r e g a r d s

r e t r o a c t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n t o b e n e c e s s a r y

, a n d b e c a u s e t h e C o u r t h a s n o t r e q u e s t e d b r i e f i n g o n

t h i s i s s u e f

r o m t h e p a r t i e s

, I r e s p e c t f u l l y d i s s e n t

.Four nier & Dowden — 11

F I L E D : O c t o b e r 2 8

, 2 0 1 5

P U B L I S H