June Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court (26,) (2003) - In The Supreme Court Of The United States, Summary Of Argument, Argument

June Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court (26,) (2003) - In The Supreme Court Of The United States

June Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court (26,) (2003) - Summary Of Argument

Responding to a reported weapons disturbance in a private residence, Houston police entered petitioner Lawrence's apartment and saw him and another adult man, petitioner Garner, engaging in a private, consensual sexual act. Petitioners were arrested and convicted of deviate sexual intercourse in violation of a Texas statute forbidding two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimat…

June Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court (26,) (2003) - Argument

Liberty protects the person from unwarranted government intrusions into a dwelling or other private places. In our tradition the State is not omnipresent in the home. And there are other spheres of our lives and existence, outside the home, where the State should not be a dominant presence. Freedom extends beyond spatial bounds. Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought…