Notable Items:

overruled Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
Petitioner: John Lawrence
Respondent:
Venue: Supreme Court of the United States
Opinion of the Court: Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Issue(s) Before the Court:

  1. Whether Petitioners' criminal convictions under the Texas "Homosexual Conduct" law--which criminalizes sexual intimacy by same-sex couples, but not identical behavior by different-sex couples--violate the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of laws?
  2. Whether Petitioners' criminal convictions for adult consensual sexual intimacy in the home violate their vital interests in liberty and privacy protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?
  3. Whether Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986), should be overruled?"

Plaintiff / Appellant / Petitioner's Claim(s):

Defendant / Appellee / Respondent's Claim(s):

Holding(s) and Disposition:

Held:
Disposition:

Material Facts:

Procedural History:

Rationale

Kennedy Majority Opinion (Stevens, Souter, Ginsberg, Breyer)

O'Connor Concurrance in judgement (??)

Scalia Dissent (Rehnquist, Thomas)

Thomas Dissent (Rehnquist, Thomas)


Full Recounting of Facts

Majority Full Argument