Law.com on Georgia fornication hearing
Law.com has a report from Tuesday's Georgia Supreme Court hearing, which infers from the judges' comments and questions that they're leaning toward overturning the state's fornication law.
The privacy of Georgia's bedrooms was the focus of much of the 30-minute oral argument. Census figures show that more than 145,000 unmarried couples live together in Georgia, and [ACLU lawyer] Weber pointed out that anyone who is not married and has sex is branded a criminal by state law. "Apparently this is a law that's violated quite frequently," deadpanned Justice Robert Benham. [...]
Pressed by [Justice] Fletcher, [district attorney] Inagawa said he had not brought a fornication case in the past five years -- although once he did present an adultery charge to the grand jury. The infrequent manner in which the fornication law is enforced, observed Fletcher, "opens the door to selective prosecution."
