State of Texas
Respondent
William J. Delmore III, Counsel of RecordThe Texas Legislature passed the State’s Homosexual Conduct Law in 1973, modifying an 1865 law that criminalized sodomy between any consenting adults to make it apply only to homosexuals. The crime was classified a Class C misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $500. John Lawrence and Tyron Garner were arrested for violation of the law on September 17, 1998, when Harris County, Texas, sheriff’s deputies observed them engaging in sex in Lawrence’s apartment. After they pleaded no contest to the charges, Lawrence and Garner challenged the constitutionality of the law. Texas responded that,…
