Doug v. Duling

603 F.Supp. 960 (1985)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

James Doe and Jane Doe (Ps) are unmarried adults who reside in Richmond. They engage in sexual intercourse with unmarried members of the opposite sex. Both Ps testified that they have not engaged in sexual intercourse since the filing of this action partly because of their fear of prosecution. Duling (D) is the Chief of the Richmond Bureau of Police, and his co-defendant, Aubrey Davis, is the Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Richmond. The Virginia Code has statutes that make it illegal for unmarried persons to have sex and to cohabitate. Ps allege that these statutes violate their 'rights to privacy, freedom of association, and freedom of expression protected by the First, Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Ps are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Ds have moved for dismissal, asserting that this Court has no subject matter jurisdiction because there is no case or controversy and that Ps lack standing to bring this action. Ds assert that enforcement of these statutes has low priority and that no complaints regarding private, consensual, non-prostitutional violations of the statutes have been responded to by the Division of the Richmond Police since 1978. Arrest records reveal that there have been at least eight arrests on fornication charges since 1982.