OVERVIEW
Defendants appealed from their convictions under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-32 (rev. 1958) as accessories. They contended that the application of the accessory statute, which was Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-196 (rev. 1958), violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The appellate court affirmed their convictions, as did the state supreme court. On further appeal, the Court first held that as accessories, defendants had standing to challenge the substantive law and to raise the constitutional rights of the married people with whom they had a professional relationship. In examining the United States Constitution, the Court found a right of privacy implicit in the Third Amendment's prohibition against the quartering of soldiers, the Fourth Amendment's right of people to be secure in their persons, the Fifth Amendment's right against self-incrimination, and the Ninth Amendment's right to retain rights not enumerated in the Constitution. The right of privacy to use birth control measures was found to be a legitimate one. Thus, the Court concluded that Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-32 (rev. 1958) was unconstitutional.
