Ferris v. Santa Clara County
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
891 F.2d 715 (1989)

- Written by Katrina Sumner, JD
Facts
Sam Ferris (defendant) engaged in oral sex with a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old-girl. Santa Clara County (plaintiff) arrested Ferris and charged him with statutory rape in violation of prohibitions against unlawful sexual intercourse with minors under the age of 18 and under the age of 16 in California’s Penal Code. Ferris was convicted and given a sentence of six months to be served in the county jail followed by probation. Ferris appealed his conviction and argued that he had a substantive-due-process right to have sex with minor females 14–18 years in age. Ferris argued that he had a right to privacy covering this sexual conduct that was protected by the United States Constitution. Therefore, Ferris’s complaint asserted that the California statutes that prohibited his conduct were unconstitutional. Ferris argued further that the district court was wrong to strike this proposed complaint.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Thompson, J.)
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