State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent and Cross-Appellant v. Thomas A. Lair, Defendant-Appellant and…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reinstated the rape conviction and affirmed the sodomy conviction, holding that the failure to give a limiting instruction on prior convictions was harmless, that the sodomy statute is not unconstitutionally vague, that it applies to heterosexual conduct, and that consent is not a defense; a concurring opinion expressed reservations about the statute's constitutionality when applied to private consensual acts.