Opinion ID: 2384642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: peripheral issues

Text: The only issue that is before the Court is whether the provisions of T.C.A. §§ 39-6-1104(a) and § 39-6-1101(5), quoted above, are in violation of Article I, Section 19 of the Tennessee Constitution. The portion of Article I, Section 19 that is pertinent to this case is as follows: The free communication of thoughts and opinions, is one of the invaluable rights of man, and every citizen may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. We are dealing with a single, narrow issue. It is an issue that should not be confused with other issues that are not before the Court. To provide a clearer understanding of the limited nature of the issue before us, it may be helpful to specifically identify and list several peripheral issues that are not before us. One issue that is not before the Court is whether the tape that the Defendants were convicted of possessing with intent to distribute, entitled Anal Lust No. 1, was obscene for purposes of T.C.A. §§ 39-6-1104(a) and § 39-6-1101(5). This issue was not before the Court of Criminal Appeals (the Court of Criminal Appeals stated: Although no challenge is made to the question of whether the tape was obscene, we have examined it and there is no question that it is.), and this issue is not before this Court. For purposes of this opinion, it is taken as true that the Defendants possessed obscene matter with intent to distribute it. Another issue that should not be confused with the issue before us is whether T.C.A. §§ 39-6-1104(a) and § 39-6-1101(5) violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This Court's decision in Leech v. American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc., 582 S.W.2d 738 (Tenn. 1979), decided in accordance with the mandate of the United States Supreme Court in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 93 S.Ct. 2607, 37 L.Ed.2d 419 (1973), established that these statutes are not in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. We are not called upon to decide whether this Court has the authority to declare that the statutes under consideration violate Article I, Section 19 of the Tennessee Constitution. This Court clearly does have such authority. In Miller v. State, 584 S.W.2d 758 (Tenn. 1979), the Court made the following observation: As to Tennessee's Constitution, we sit as the court of last resort, subject solely to the qualification that we may not impinge upon the minimum level of protection established by Supreme Court interpretations of the federal constitutional guarantees. But state supreme courts, interpreting state constitutional provisions, may impose higher standards and stronger protections than those set by the federal constitution. It is settled law that the Supreme Court of a state has full and final power to determine the constitutionality of a state statute, procedure, or course of conduct with regard to the state constitution, and this is true even where the state and federal constitutions contain similar or identical provisions. 584 S.W.2d, at 760.