Lawrence v. Texas (in part)

E92213

Lawrence v. Texas (in part) is a landmark 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down laws criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy, expanding constitutional protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Aliases (1)

Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
constitutional law case
landmark civil rights case
areaOfLaw civil rights law
constitutional law
criminal law
citation 123 S. Ct. 2472
156 L. Ed. 2d 508
539 U.S. 558
concurrenceBy Sandra Day O’Connor
constitutionalClause Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
constitutionalProvision Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 2003-06-26
dissentBy Antonin Scalia NERFINISHED
Clarence Thomas NERFINISHED
William H. Rehnquist
effect decriminalized consensual same-sex intimacy between adults nationwide
expanded constitutional protections for LGBTQ+ individuals
invalidated sodomy laws in the United States
geographicScopeOfEffect United States
holding laws criminalizing private consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex are unconstitutional
the Texas Homosexual Conduct law violates the Due Process Clause
the state cannot demean the existence or control the destiny of persons by making their private sexual conduct a crime
joinedByInMajority David H. Souter NERFINISHED
John Paul Stevens NERFINISHED
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sandra Day O’Connor
Stephen G. Breyer NERFINISHED
jurisdiction United States
legalIssue constitutionality of sodomy laws
liberty under the Due Process Clause
right to privacy
substantive due process
majorityOpinionBy Anthony M. Kennedy NERFINISHED
overruledCase Bowers v. Hardwick
parties John Geddes Lawrence
State of Texas
Tyron Garner
precedentialStatus binding on state courts regarding sodomy laws
binding precedent on lower federal courts
recognizedRight autonomy in personal intimate decisions
liberty of adults to engage in private consensual sexual conduct
relatedDoctrine right to privacy in intimate relationships
substantive due process liberty interests
stateOfOrigin Texas
subjectMatter LGBTQ+ rights
criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct
term October Term 2002
yearDecided 2003

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Equal Protection Clause
basisFor
Griswold v. Connecticut ("Lawrence v. Texas")
impactOnLaterCase
Anthony M. Kennedy ("Lawrence v. Texas")
notableCaseOpinion
Baker v. Nelson ("Lawrence v. Texas")
relatedCase

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