Watson v. State

750 S.E.2d 143, 293 Ga. 817, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 3243, 2013 WL 5707978, 2013 Ga. LEXIS 860
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedOctober 21, 2013
DocketS13A0784
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 750 S.E.2d 143 (Watson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Watson v. State, 750 S.E.2d 143, 293 Ga. 817, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 3243, 2013 WL 5707978, 2013 Ga. LEXIS 860 (Ga. 2013).

Opinion

HUNSTEIN, Justice.

In this criminal appeal, Appellant James Watson challenges the constitutionality of Georgia’s solicitation of sodomy statute, OCGA § 16-6-15. Watson, who at the time was an officer with the City of Nashville Police Department, was convicted of the misdemeanor offense of solicitation of sodomy as well as the felony violation of oath [818]*818of office, arising from his interactions with 17-year-old Chase Browning in March 2009.1 Watson contends that the solicitation of sodomy statute is unconstitutional both on its face and as applied to him, as an infringement on his rights to free speech, privacy, and due process of law under the United States and Georgia Constitutions. Watson also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the sufficiency of the indictment, and the trial court’s jury instructions. We now reaffirm the constitutionality of the solicitation of sodomy statute, but find that the evidence was insufficient to convict Watson under that statute. In addition, because the counts in the indictment charging Watson with violating his oath of office were expressly premised on a finding that he had violated the solicitation of sodomy statute, we likewise must reverse the convictions on those counts.

The relevant facts are not in dispute. On March 1, 2009, Browning was at a friend’s house when a dog attack occurred, and police were called. Watson, who was on duty with the City of Nashville Police Department, was dispatched to the scene. After the incident, Watson gave Browning a ride home. Browning testified that, during the car ride, Watson told Browning that he “wasn’t supposed to be giving [Browning] a ride home” and insinuated that he deserved “something to repay for the ride.” Also during the ride, Browning testified, Watson looked at him and made a lewd gesture, “grab [bing] at his genitals and pull[ing] down on his pants.”

The following day, Watson sent Browning a Facebook message that stated:

I guess we need to discuss my payment for yesterday. You asked what I wanted, so does that mean I get what I want, no matter what it is. I guess I know what I want I am just a little nervous about asking, because I am not sure you will go for it.

The day after that, Watson sent Browning a MySpace message, again referring to “my payment” and asking Browning to respond either [819]*819online or to Watson’s cell phone. On March 4, Browning responded to Watson by text message, asking what Watson meant regarding “payment.” Watson replied, “What about me and u getting 2gether sometime 2 have a little fun if u know what I mean.” Declining, Browning responded, “Naw man I ain’t like that,” to which Watson replied, “Ok well if u change ur mind just let me know u may like it I didn’t until I let someone talk me into it.”

Browning, who testified that this exchange made him feel “very awkward,” immediately reported this exchange to his high school tennis coach, and school officials contacted law enforcement. In the presence of a GBI agent, Browning placed a phone call on March 13, 2009 to Watson, who was on duty at the time, suggesting he was considering Watson’s proposal and asking what to expect. During that conversation, Watson proposed that they meet that evening at the unoccupied home of one of Watson’s relatives. After the conversation, Watson sent Browning a text message asking him to come to Watson’s house instead. In a second phone conversation, Watson explicitly proposed and discussed acts of sodomy. In both conversations, Watson stated repeatedly that it was up to Browning as to what ultimately would happen and that Browning did not have to do anything he did not want to do. The phone calls were recorded and played for the jury at trial.

1. The solicitation of sodomy statute provides: “[a] person commits the offense of solicitation of sodomy when he solicits another to perform or submit to an act of sodomy.” OCGA § 16-6-15 (a). “Sodomy” is defined as the “perform [anee] or submission] to any sexual act involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another.” OCGA § 16-6-2 (a) (1). We have previously held that, in order to withstand a constitutional attack, the sodomy statute must be construed in a limited manner, so as not to criminalize “private, unforced, non-commercial acts of sexual intimacy between persons legally aisle to consent.” Powell v. State, 270 Ga. 327, 336 (3) (510 SE2d 18) (1998). This limiting construction is necessary, the Court held, to avoid infringing on fundamental privacy rights guaranteed under the Georgia Constitution. Id. at 332, 335-336 (3); accord In re J. M., 276 Ga. 88 (575 SE2d 441) (2003) (applying Powell to invalidate adjudication of delinquency for violating fornication statute); see also Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U. S. 558 (123 SCt 2472, 156 LE2d 508) (2003) (holding Texas sodomy statute making it a crime for two consenting adults of the same sex to engage in private sexual activity violated due process under U. S. Constitution).

Subsequent to our decision in Powell, this Court upheld the solicitation of sodomy statute against a constitutional challenge on [820]*820free speech grounds. In Howard v. State, 272 Ga. 242 (527 SE2d 194) (2000), we held that “this Court can narrowly construe the solicitation of sodomy statute to only punish speech soliciting sodomy that is not protected by the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy.” Id. at 244 (1). Though Watson invites us to overrule Howard, we decline to do so, because we believe its holding is well-founded. As we have recently reaffirmed, even statutes that impose content-based restrictions on free speech will not be deemed facially invalid if they are readily subject to a limiting construction. See Final Exit Network, Inc. v. State of Ga., 290 Ga. 508, 511 (3) (722 SE2d 722) (2012); see also State of Ga. v. Davis, 246 Ga. 761, 762 (1) (272 SE2d 721) (1980) (declining to invalidate criminal solicitation statute, where it could be construed as criminalizing “only such language as creates a clear and present danger of a felony being committed”). We therefore adhere to our holding in Howard and reaffirm that the solicitation of sodomy statute is constitutional to the extent it is construed to prohibit only that speech by which a person solicits another to commit the offense of sodomy as narrowly defined in Powell.2

In so doing, we expressly reject Watson’s contention, derived from the dissenting opinion in Howard, that adopting a limiting construction of the solicitation of sodomy statute creates such vagueness as to violate due process. See Howard, 272 Ga. at 247-248 (2) (Sears, J., dissenting). Watson asserts that our narrowed construction of the solicitation statute fails to afford individuals fair notice of what conduct is prohibited and renders the statute susceptible to arbitrary and selective enforcement. We disagree. Under the applicable statutes, as construed in Powell and Howard,

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Bluebook (online)
750 S.E.2d 143, 293 Ga. 817, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 3243, 2013 WL 5707978, 2013 Ga. LEXIS 860, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watson-v-state-ga-2013.