CJ 2501 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Solitary Confinement, Equal Protection Clause, Intellectual Disability
20 Feb 2016
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Document Summary
Fundamental right to privacy from 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th and 14th fundamental - right that requires the government to prove that a compelling interest justifies invading it. Facts: houston cops entered male defendant"s home on suspicion of weapons, found defendant and another man having consensual sex, convicted of deviant sexual intercourse. Issue: whether consenting adults have a right to privacy that protects same sex sexual contact in their house. Holding: consenting adult homosexuals have the right to privacy for sex acts in their own home. Reasoning: their right to liberty under the due process clause allows full rights to private conduct without government intervention. Concurrence: same outcome but based on violation of equal protection. Dissent: tx has right to criminalize this behavior, court should not enforce its view, the democratic process is the proper forum for that change to take place.
