John Amabile was quoted in the Daily Report on what the Georgia Supreme Court's shift toward a textualist approach – a strict focus on the original language of a statute – could could mean for the right of privacy in Georgia. He noted that Georgia has a long history of recognizing a state right of privacy, but that a recent concurring opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh could provide a path for state Supreme Court justices to strike down a precedent. 

“It would not be terribly surprising to see the Georgia Supreme Court use this concurrence as a guideline in re-visiting old precedent,” John said. ”Once the door is open, the textualist view to a right of privacy in the State of Georgia, and the unlikely finding that the right of privacy exists because of the ‘common law of nature’ could become extremely important. There would still be significant challenges as the concept of privacy in Georgia is pretty well entrenched.”

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You can find additional analysis from John about the Georgia Supreme Court shifting toward a textualist approach in this client alert and a previous Daily Report article.