Bowers v. Hardwick
E508237
Bowers v. Hardwick was a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy, later overturned by Lawrence v. Texas in 2003.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986) | 1 |
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
landmark court decision ⓘ |
| appliesConstitutionalProvision | Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| concernsIssue |
criminalization of consensual same-sex sodomy
ⓘ
right to privacy under the Due Process Clause ⓘ |
| concernsLaw | Georgia sodomy statute ⓘ |
| hasChiefJusticeAtTime | Warren E. Burger NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasCitation | 478 U.S. 186 ⓘ |
| hasConstitutionalDoctrine |
right to privacy
ⓘ
substantive due process ⓘ |
| hasCountry |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| hasCourt | Supreme Court of the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasDecisionDate | 1986-06-30 ⓘ |
| hasDocketNumber | No. 85-140 ⓘ |
| hasEffect | upheld state power to criminalize consensual same-sex intimacy until overruled ⓘ |
| hasHolding |
Georgia’s sodomy law is constitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
ⓘ
The Constitution does not confer a fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy ⓘ |
| hasImpactOn |
LGBT rights in the United States
ⓘ
privacy rights jurisprudence ⓘ substantive due process jurisprudence ⓘ |
| hasJusticeInDissent |
Harry A. Blackmun
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
John Paul Stevens NERFINISHED ⓘ Thurgood Marshall NERFINISHED ⓘ William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasJusticeInMajority |
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Sandra Day O’Connor NERFINISHED ⓘ Warren E. Burger NERFINISHED ⓘ William H. Rehnquist NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasKeyPhrase | no fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy ⓘ |
| hasLegalArea |
LGBT rights law
ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ criminal law ⓘ |
| hasLowerCourt | United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasMajorityOpinionBy | Byron R. White NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasOverrulingCaseCitation | Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasPetitioner | Michael J. Bowers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasProceduralPosture | appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ⓘ |
| hasRegionOfLaw | Georgia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasRespondent | Michael Hardwick NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasStateInvolved | Georgia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasSubject | constitutionality of sodomy laws ⓘ |
| hasSubsequentHistory | explicitly overruled by Lawrence v. Texas in 2003 ⓘ |
| hasTypeOfConductAtIssue | private, consensual, adult same-sex sexual conduct ⓘ |
| hasVoteSplit | 5–4 ⓘ |
| hasYearDecided | 1986 ⓘ |
| overruledBy | Lawrence v. Texas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986)