"Bowers vs. Hardwick"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the "Bowers vs. Hardwick" decision meant that engaging in homosexual acts between consenting adults, even in the privacy of their homes, could be considered a criminal offence; the exercise of such law by certain states did not constitute a violation of one's fundamental rights or liberty under the Due Process Clause. The author points out that the decision in "Bowers vs. Hardwick" conflicts with several other previous and similar right-of-privacy decisions of the Court, including "Griswold vs. Connecticut" (1965). The paper relates that "Bowers vs. Hardwick" was overruled by the courts 16 years later.

From the Paper:

"Briefly, the facts of Bowers v Hardwick reveal that Michael Hardwick was a bartender in a gay bar in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1982, a houseguest of Hardwick unknowingly let a police officer enter Hardwick's home. The officer went to the bedroom where Hardwick was engaged in oral sex with his partner. The men were arrested and charged with violating the Georgia statute that criminalizes sodomy. Charges were later dropped, but Hardwick brought the case forward in the Federal District Court with the purpose of having the sodomy law declared unconstitutional. The court ruled in favor of the defendants for the claimant's failure to state a claim. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the decision on the grounds that the Georgia sodomy statute violated the respondent's (Hardwick's) fundamental rights. The Supreme Court held that the Georgia statute was constitutional and reversed."

More papers on "Bowers vs. Hardwick":

• Essay # 19349 : "Bowers vs. Hardwick"
• Essay # 8215 : "Supreme Court Striking Down Taboos"
• Term Paper # 120720 : "Nature vs. Nurture"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: