bowers v. hardwick

[kasia]

i heard that there's another case going up to the supreme court sometime this summer questioning the validity of bowers v. hardwick.

right now, as most of you probably know, the right of two consenting adults to engage in sodomy in their own home is not considered a fundamental right and thus need not muster strict scrunity under the due process analysis. thus, states can enact laws punishing the act of sodomy - yes, even in your own home - so long as the law is rationally related to a conceivable legitimate goal.

under the equal protection analysis, homosexuals are not considered a suspect or even quasi-suspect classification. thus, the rational basis test is used here for laws regarding sodomy as well.

i'm not certain of the name of the case that will be heard - does anyone have more information on this?

[lethal]

The case is from Texas. My Civ Pro professor worked on the litigation while she was at Lambda Legal Defense. I believe the case is named Lawrence and Garner v Texas. Oral arguments before the Supreme Court were made in late March and a decision is expected this summer.

Basically, Texas law forbids homosexual couples from engaging in sodomy, but allows heterosexual couples to engage in that behavior. It is more of an equal protection clause case ratehr than a Bowers case.<br><br>A transcript of the oral argument is at this link: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_argumen...ipts/02-102.pdf (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/02-102.pdf)

More information can be found on the Lambda web site here: http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/do...ord?record=1190 (http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=1190)

My professor watched the arguments personally. She noted that the petitioner's oral argument was very good while the respondent's was pretty bad. Counsel for the respondent (Texas) was the DA of the county where the men were arrested. He was fairly inexperienced and obviously had never been before the US Supreme Court before.

Regardless, with the political composition of the current court, I almost expect another 5-4 decision in favor of Texas, although I think it is a fairly solid case for the 2 men as a violation of their 14th Amendment equal protection rights.

[kasia]

Originally posted by lethalweapon@Jun 12 2003, 12:38 PM
although I think it is a fairly solid case for the 2 men as a violation of their 14th Amendment equal protection rights.
how could it possibly be if we're not willing to recognize them as a suspect group? isn't it a legitimate goal to protect the morals of society?

[lethal]

Originally posted by kasia@Jun 12 2003, 04:45 PM
how could it possibly be if we're not willing to recognize them as a suspect group? isn't it a legitimate goal to protect the morals of society?
Ahh! Constitutional Law...umm...ask Victor...I'm no good with this subject.