Lawrence v. Texas

U.S. Case Law

539 U.S. 558 (2003), struck down a Texas law criminalizing private consensual sexual activity between adults of the same sex, holding that the law violated liberty interests protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court found that the law furthered no legitimate state interest to justify intrusion into the private lives of citizens, stating “Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government.” In so holding the Court explicitly overruled the decision in Bowers v. Hardwick.