Sexuality and the Law Commons^™

Constitutional Law—State Employees Have Private Cause Of Action Against Employers Under Family And Medical Leave Act—Nevada Department Of Human Resources V. Hibbs, 538 U.S. 721 (2003)., Gabriel H. Teninbaum

ExpressO

The Eleventh Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that non-consenting states are not subject to suit in federal court. Congress may, however, abrogate the states’ sovereign immunity by enacting legislation to enforce the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the Supreme Court of the United States considered whether Congress acted within its constitutional authority by abrogating sovereign immunity under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows private causes of action against state employers to enforce the FMLA’s family-leave provision. The Court held abrogation was proper under the FMLA and state …

The Alley Behind First Street, Northeast: Criminal Abortion In The Nation's Capital 1873-1973, Douglas R. Miller

ExpressO

The thirtieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade found our country no less divided over abortion than it was during the era of its prohibition. As the bitter struggle over judicial nominations throughout the present administration suggests, abortion’s future remains at the forefront of American political debate.

In their push for increased limitations, abortion opponents generally overlook the historical consequences of prohibition. Abortion rights proponents often invoke history in their opposition to new restrictions, but tend to do so superficially, and only in a manner that supports their position.

This article attempts a more complex study of criminal abortion’s legal and …

Morals-Based Justifications For Lawmaking: Before And After Lawrence V. Texas, Suzanne B. Goldberg

Rutgers Law School (Newark) Faculty Papers

Morals-Based Justifications for Lawmaking: Before and After Lawrence v. Texas looks in depth at the dissonance between the Supreme Court’s rhetorical support for morals-based lawmaking and the Court’s jurisprudence. In taking this approach, the article responds to a central post-Lawrence question regarding the sufficiency of a government’s moral agenda as a justification for restricting individual rights. It turns out, on close review of the cases going back to the mid-1800s, that the Court has almost never relied explicitly on a morals rationale to sustain an allegedly rights-infringing government action.

The article develops several explanations for this avoidance of explicit morals …

International Child Abductions: The Challenges Facing America , Charles F. Hall

ExpressO

International child abductors often escape domestic law enforcement and disappear without consequence or resolution. International child abductions occur too frequently; in the United States alone, the number of children abducted abroad every year has risen to over 1,000. Currently, 11,000 American children live abroad with their abductors. These abductions occur despite international treaties and the Congressional resolutions that have significantly stiffened the penalties for those caught. Effectively combating international child abductions requires drafting resolutions that are acceptable across the diverse societies and cultures of the international community. Without such resolutions to fill the gaps of current treaties this problem will …

Equality Without Tiers, Suzanne Goldberg

Rutgers Law School (Newark) Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Abstinence-Only Adolescent Education: Ineffective, Unpopular And Unconstitutional, James J. Mcgrath

ExpressO

This article examines the recent changes in the funding of “abstinence only” educational programs that attempt to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Although funding for these programs was previously ruled to be facially constitutional, this is no longer the case as their lack of efficacy for their stated purpose has been exposed. Newer programs are in direct violation of unconstitutional conditions doctrine, and none of these programs address a significant segment of the student population, lesbian and gay students. My article addresses this oversight as dangerous public health policy as well as a potential constitutional …

The Unknown Past Of Lawrence V. Texas, Dale Carpenter

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article is an attempt to fill in some of the gaps in the public's knowledge of the case Lawrence v. Texas. Much of the rich post-arrest history of the case has been ignored. But for the courage, insight, and initiative of three men in particular, the arrest might have been another forgotten episode in what the author calls the under history of the Texas sodomy law, the history not told in appellate opinions or in most other accounts.

Section II reviews the "somewhat known" past, tracing the evolution of the Texas sodomy law from a statute so facially …

Four Arguments Against A Marriage Amendment That Even An Opponent Of Gay Marriage Should Accept, Dale Carpenter

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

In this article, the author argues against a federal constitutional amendment preventing states from recognizing same-sex marriages. As of now, a nationwide policy debate is underway on the merits of providing full marital recognition to gay couples. That debate is still in its infancy and is proceeding in a variety of ways, with divergent policy choices in the states. It should not be cut short by the extraordinary mechanism of a constitutional amendment that would substantially delay or permanently foreclose what may turn out to be a valuable social reform.

To summarize, the four main points the author makes are: …

The Constitution Should Protect The Right To Same-Sex Marriage, Robert A. Sedler

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Choosing Liberty Over Equality And Sacrificing Both: Equal Protection And Due Process In Lawrence V. Texas, Andrew J. Seligsohn

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article critiques the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, arguing that the Court's reliance on substantive due process under the Due Process Clause, rather than the Equal Protection Clause, undermines the broader equality concerns faced by the LGBTQ+ community. By prioritizing liberty over equality, the Court missed an opportunity to establish a more robust legal foundation for future LGBTQ+ rights, leaving the decision vulnerable to challenge and failing to address the systemic discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The Shag-A-Delic Supreme Court: "Anal Sex," "Mystery," "Destiny," And The "Transcendent" In Lawrence V. Texas, Richard D. Mohr

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article critiques Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas for its lack of clarity and robust constitutional framework. While the decision overturned Texas's sodomy law, the author argues that Kennedy's reasoning conflated liberty and equality rights, relied on vague language, and failed to establish a clear legal standard, undermining its potential to provide strong protection for LGBTQ+ rights.

Challenging Dissent: The Ontology And Logic Of Lawrence V. Texas, Jami Weinstein, Tobyn Demarco

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which invalidated a Texas antisodomy statute criminalizing homosexual conduct. The Court held that the statute failed rational basis review and rejected the promotion of majoritarian sexual morality as a legitimate state interest. The decision reflects a broader recognition of the fundamental right to make autonomous, private, consensual, adult sexual choices. The analysis critiques Justice Scalia's dissent, arguing that his fears about the end of morals legislation are unfounded and that laws based solely on moral disapproval lack a rational basis.

The Free Speech Coalition & Adult Entertainment: An Inside View Of The Adult Entertainment Industry, Its Leading Advocate & The First Amendment, Clay Calvert, Robert Richards

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Lawrence And Garner: The Love (Or At Least Sexual Attraction) That Finally Dared Speak Its Name, Paris R. Baldacci

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the legal evolution from *Bowers v. Hardwick* to Lawrence v. Texas, highlighting how the latter marked a pivotal shift in recognizing LGBTQ+ rights by emphasizing personal autonomy and dignity. It underscores the significance of narrative strategies in shaping judicial decisions, particularly in *Lawrence*, where the plaintiffs' personal stories influenced the Court's ruling.

"You Are Entering A Gay And Lesbian Free Zone": On The Radical Dissents Of Justice Scalia And Other (Post-) Queers – [Raising Questions About Lawrence, Sex Wars, And The Criminal Law], Bernard Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

The most renowned substantive criminal law decision of the October 2002 Term, Lawrence v. Texas, will go down in history as a critical turning point in criminal law debates over the proper scope of the penal sanction. For the first time in the history of American criminal law, the United States Supreme Court has declared that a supermajoritarian moral belief does not necessarily provide a rational basis for criminalizing conventionally deviant conduct. The Court's ruling is the coup de grâce to legal moralism administered after a prolonged, brutish, tedious, and debilitating struggle against liberal legalism in its various criminal …

Past And Present Proposed Amendments To The United States Constitution Regarding Marriage, Edward D. Stein

Articles

Proposals to amend the Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages were recently actively discussed in the U.S. Senate and are likely to receive attention in the House before the year's end. This article situates arguments for these proposals within the history of attempts to amend the Constitution related to marriage by providing the first detailed, synthetic analysis of such previously proposed amendments. This examination reveals 133 previously proposed amendments to the Constitution relating to marriage, consisting primarily of proposals to prohibit interracial marriage, proposals to prohibit polygamy, and proposals to empower Congress to make uniform laws concerning marriage and divorce. By …

A Room Of One's Own: Morality And Sexual Privacy After Lawrence V. Texas, Marybeth Herald

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Lawrence And Same-Sex Marriage Bans: On Constitutional Interpretation And Sophistical Rhetoric, Mark Strasser

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Night Thoughts: Reflections On The Debate Concerning Same-Sex Marriage, John V. Orth

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Lawrence V. Texas: Brief Of Amici Curiae Constitutional Law Professors Bruce A. Ackerman, Jack M. Balkin, Derrick A. Bell, Jr., Paul Brest, Evan Caminker, Erwin Chemerinsky, David D. Cole, David B. Cruz, Thomas C. Grey, Pamela S. Karlan, Kenneth L. Karst, Andrew Koppelman, Sanford Levinson, Frank Michelman, William B. Rubenstein, Steven H. Shiffrin, Geoffrey R. Stone, And Kenji Yoshino In Support Of Petitioner, Evan Caminker

Appellate Briefs

The law professors named below teach and write about Constitutional law. Both basic and advanced constitutional law courses, as well as a wide range of scholarship on constitutional issues, regularly consider the rights of gay men and lesbians. Amici are among the many scholars who have spent a considerable amount of time thinking, writing, and teaching about the issues before the Court in this case. A selected list of their scholarship on these issues is contained in an Appendix to this brief.

Based on this expertise, and on careful review of this Court's decisions, amici argue in this brief that …

Freedom Of Discrimination?:The Conflict Between Public Accommodations' Freedom Association And State Anti-Discrimination Laws, 37 J. Marshall L. Rev. 125 (2003), Gregory J. Wartman

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Justice Kennedy's Libertarian Revolution: Lawrence V. Texas, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This brief article explains why Lawrence v. Texas could be a revolutionary case if the Supreme Court follows Justice Kennedy's reasoning in the future. As in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Justice Kennedy finds a statute to be unconstitutional, not because it infringes a right to privacy (which is mentioned but once), but because it infringes "liberty" (a word he uses at least twenty-five times). In addition, Justice Kennedy's opinion protects liberty without any finding that the liberty being restricted is a "fundamental right." Instead, having identified the conduct prohibited as liberty, he turns to the purported justification for the …

Six Opinions By Mr. Justice Stevens: A New Methodology For Constitutional Cases?, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

Applying The Discrimination Model To Violence Against Women: Some Reflections On Theory And Practice, Sally F. Goldfarb

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Cloning And Reproductive Liberty, Francis J. Beckwith

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Some Effects Of Identity-Based Social Movements On Constitutional Law In The Twentieth Century, William N. Eskridge Jr.

Michigan Law Review

What motivated big changes in constitutional law doctrine during the twentieth century? Rarely did important constitutional doctrine or theory change because of formal amendments to the document's text, and rarer still because scholars or judges "discovered" new information about the Constitution's original meaning. Precedent and common law reasoning were the mechanisms by which changes occurred rather than their driving force. My thesis is that most twentieth century changes in the constitutional protection of individual rights were driven by or in response to the great identity-based social movements ("IBSMs") of the twentieth century. Race, sex, and sexual orientation were markers of …

Lesbians, Gay Men, And The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Brenda Cossman

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The legacy of the first twenty years of the Charter for lesbians and gay men is a contradictory one of victories and defeats. At the level of doctrine, strategy, and politics, both the victories and defeats have been precarious and contradictory. While gaining formal equality rights, lesbians and gay men have not been able to secure rights to sexual freedom. And while formal equality has displaced the heteronormativity that denied legal recognition and subjectivity to lesbians and gay men, this formal equality has come at a cost. Lesbians and gay men are being reconstituted in law: some are being newly …

Signs Of The Times: Dale V. Boy Scouts Of America And The Changing Meaning Of Nondiscrimination, Andrew Koppelman

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sexualized Racism/Gendered Violence: Outraging The Body Politic In The Reconstruction South, Lisa Cardyn

Michigan Law Review

From its establishment in the months following the Civil War by a motley assortment of disgruntled former rebels, the first Ku Klux Klan, like its many vigilante counterparts, employed terror to realize its invidious social and political aspirations. This terror assumed disparate shapes - from the storied nightriding of disguised bands on horseback, to cryptic threats, horrific assaults, and, not infrequently, murder. While students of Reconstruction have considered many facets of klan violence, none to date has focused exclusively on sexual violence in its historical specificity. Yet, as the work of Catherine Clinton, Laura Edwards, and Martha Hodes persuasively demonstrates, …

Bad Women Deserve Equal Protection: A Look At The Constitutionality Of The Florida Prostitution Statute, Patricia Padrino

St. Thomas Law Review

Laws against prostitution are antiquated and based primarily on moral considerations. While there is moral outcry against the proliferation of prostitution, prostitutes themselves are allowed to take the blame and suffer the punishment for its practice. Although prostitution is often referred to as a victimless crime, the criminalization of prostitution certainly victimizes prostitutes. Laws criminalizing prostitution in the United States do nothing to benefit society and everything to harm prostitutes themselves. One way to attack these laws in Florida is to show that they violate the equal protection rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. By approaching the …