In 1998, John Geddes Lawrence Jr., an older white man, was arrested along with Tyron Garner, a younger black man, at Lawrence's apartment in Harris County, Texas. The Court based its ruling on the notions of personal autonomy to define one's own relationships and of American traditions of non-interference with private sexual decisions between consenting adults. Constitution provides, even though it is not explicitly enumerated. The Court reaffirmed the concept of a ' right to privacy' that earlier cases, such as Roe v. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that sanctions of criminal punishment for those who commit sodomy are unconstitutional. 558 (2003), was a landmark decision of the U.S. This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings Kennedy, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth District of Texas reversed.Ĭhief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. 2003)Ī Texas law classifying consensual, adult homosexual intercourse as illegal sodomy violated the privacy and liberty of adults to engage in private intimate conduct under the 14th Amendment. S 427ĭefendants convicted, Harris County Criminal Court (1999), rev'd, 2000 WL 729417 ( Tex. Service 5559 2003 Daily Journal DAR 7036 16 Fla.
