Sexuality and the Law Commons^™

Natural Law And The Regulation Of Sexuality: A Critique, Dr. Brent L. Pickett

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

I will argue that the natural-law understanding of sexuality, and its application to the law, is deeply flawed, in regards to homosexuality and sodomy. I begin by laying out some of the foundations of the natural law position. Central to the position is an account of human goods that are seen as good in themselves, and hence as rational bases for choice and human action. In regards to sexuality, the two most important goods, at least from the natural law perspective, are those of marriage and personal integration. I argue that a real appreciation of the role of these two …

Sex Determination For Federal Purposes: Is Transsexual Immigration Via Marriage Permissible Under The Defense Of Marriage Act?, John A. Fisher

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Part I describes the federal immigration benefits available to spouses of most U.S. citizens and presents the historical and contemporary obstacles that prohibit these benefits from being extended to gays and lesbians. It then addresses DOMA's failure to define "opposite sex," and hence DOMA's failure to indicate whether post-operative transsexuals, or their partners, should be given "spousal status" under current U.S. immigration law. Part II examines traditional and modern notions of sex. It traces state legal approaches to transsexual marriage and ultimately disentangles the formalistic rhetoric that obfuscates the reasoning in those cases. In particular, Part II focuses on a …

Domesticating Lawrence, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Restructuring The Marital Bedroom: The Role Of The Privacy Doctrine In Advocating The Legalization Of Same-Sex Marriage, Nadine A. Gartner

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Part I of this paper examines the reasons underlying queer rights advocates' reluctance to insert privacy arguments into the case for legalizing same-sex marriage. Part II illustrates that, due to such disinclination, advocates transformed notions of privacy into concepts of liberty. Part III argues that, after the Lawrence decision, proponents of same-sex marriage can and should use privacy-based arguments to fortify their claims.

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 …

Is Lawrence Libertarian?, Dale Carpenter

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas is no doubt a shock to those pursuing an antihomosexual agenda. To most Americans, however, the decision is less an ipse dixit announcing radical social change than it is a belated recognition of what they had already learned about the humanity and dignity of gay people. Rather than radically changing constitutional principle, the Court has corrected its own erroneous understanding of the facts that underlay its application of constitutional principle in the past. Rather than leading the nation, the Court has caught up to it.

Part I of this essay lays out …

Women In The Workplace: Sexual Discrimination In Japan, Kelly Barrett

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Male Sexual Assault: Issues Of Arousal And Consent, Siegmund Fred Fuchs

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note argues that an erection under these circumstances does not indicate consent to engage in sexual activity. Part II of this Note explores the reality of male sexual assault and offers various medical, psychological, sociological, and cultural reasons to explain why a male victim may maintain an erection while being sexually assaulted and/or raped. Part II also explores the complex relationship between physical arousal and sexual desire. Part III provides a legal background to both the law's treatment of male sexual assault generally and in specific instances where the male victim maintained an erection during his assault. This part …

Foreword, Byron L. Warnken

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Wedding Bells Heard Around The World: Years From Now, Will We Wonder Why We Worried About Same-Sex Marriage, 24 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 589 (2004), Mark E. Wojcik

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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 Plight Of Same-Sex Harassment Victims Under Title Vii: Why Sexual Orientation Discrimination Should Be Recognized As A Form Of Sex Stereotyping, Sonya K. Parrish

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Making Marriage Matter Less: The Ali Domestic Partner Principles Are One Step In The Right Direction, Nancy Polikoff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Reconsidering Attraction In Sexual Harassment, Martin J. Katz

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Comments: Because Sex Crimes Are Different: Why Maryland Should (Carefully) Adopt The Contested Federal Rules Of Evidence 413 And 414 That Permit Propensity Evidence Of A Criminal Defendant's Other Sex Offenses, Joyce R. Lombardi

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (Cases): Gender Stereotypes And Sexual Harassment Since The Passage Of Title Vii, Miriam A. Cherry

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article, which is part of a symposium on the 40th Anniversary of Title VII appearing in the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, evaluates the progress of women in the workforce by critically analyzing the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Written in the early 1960s and made into a 1967 movie, How to Succeed follows the adventures of J. Pierrepont Finch, a window washer who, with the aid of a sarcastic self-help book, schemes his way up the corporate ladder. It also includes the sexual exploits of the exclusively male executive corps among the female …

Natural Law And The Regulation Of Sexuality: A Critique, Dr. Brent L. Pickett

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

I will argue that the natural-law understanding of sexuality, and its application to the law, is deeply flawed, in regards to homosexuality and sodomy. I begin by laying out some of the foundations of the natural law position. Central to the position is an account of human goods that are seen as good in themselves, and hence as rational bases for choice and human action. In regards to sexuality, the two most important goods, at least from the natural law perspective, are those of marriage and personal integration. I argue that a real appreciation of the role of these two …

Rebuilding The Closet: Bowers V. Hardwick, Lawrence V. Texas, And Themismeasure Of Homosexual Historiography, Jody Madeira

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

This paper acknowledges that "[i]t is now commonplace to disparage the Hardwick Justices' performance as historians, though it is less common to specify what was wrong with it''. In an effort to engage in such specification, this paper will first address mischaracterization of history in Bowers, which portrays the historic legal and ecclesiastical penalties of what the Court labels as "homosexual activities" as a continuous, unitary narrative extending from the halls of the Emperors Theodosius and Justinian to the legislative assembly rooms of Georgia and Texas. This illusory perspective portrays the criminalization of sodomy (and therefore the identity of homosexuality …

Symposium Problem, _ _. _

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

A problem from the sypmposium based on Suzie and Carol Carol who have lived together as a same-sex couple for five years, and wish to be legally married. They reside in the County of Declaration, in the State of Independence, however, and Independence forbids marriage between homosexual couples. Specifically, the Code of Independence statutorily prohibits marriages or contractual unions between same-sex partners.

Paradoxes Of Health And Equality: When A Boy Becomes A Girl, Noa Ben-Asher

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Can a parent be legally required to control the gender of a child? What is the legal justification of a forced disintegration of a family? This Essay will try to address these issues, raised by an unusual legal dispute between parents who believed that they should raise their child as a girl, and a state agency that insisted on a masculine upbringing as a boy.

Legal Dimensions Of Adolescent Sexuality, Roxanne Mykitiuk, Stephanie Turnham

Articles & Book Chapters

The ethical and legal obligations with respect to treating a minor can be confusing, particularly in the areas of consent to treatment, confidentiality, and parental involvement. The clinician must be aware of the appropriate course of practice when the patient is an adolescent seeking care for contraception, pregnancy, or sexually transmitted infections. This article examines a number of ethical and legal issues that arise when providing reproductive and sexual health care to an adolescent and offers recommendations for the physician’s most appropriate courses of action regarding adolescent patients and the age of consent to sexual activity, reporting of child abuse, …

Inscribing Lesbian And Gay Identities: How Judicial Imaginations Intertwine With The Best Interests Of Children, Christopher Carnahan

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the legal challenges faced by same-sex parents in adoption and child custody cases, highlighting the evolving definition of family and the impact of court rulings on children's best interests. It critiques the use of formal definitions of family and advocates for a functional approach that prioritizes children's welfare, emphasizing the need for legal recognition of diverse family structures.

Rebuilding The Closet: Bowers V. Hardwick, Lawrence V. Texas, And The Mismeasure Of Homosexual Historiography, Jody Madeira

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This paper acknowledges that "[i]t is now commonplace to disparage the Hardwick Justices' performance as historians, though it is less common to specify what was wrong with it''. In an effort to engage in such specification, this paper will first address mischaracterization of history in Bowers, which portrays the historic legal and ecclesiastical penalties of what the Court labels as "homosexual activities" as a continuous, unitary narrative extending from the halls of the Emperors Theodosius and Justinian to the legislative assembly rooms of Georgia and Texas. This illusory perspective portrays the criminalization of sodomy (and therefore the identity of homosexuality …

Symposium Problem, Editorial Staff

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

A problem from the sypmposium based on Suzie and Carol Carol who have lived together as a same-sex couple for five years, and wish to be legally married. They reside in the County of Declaration, in the State of Independence, however, and Independence forbids marriage between homosexual couples. Specifically, the Code of Independence statutorily prohibits marriages or contractual unions between same-sex partners.

Brief, E. Brandon Bailey

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Appellants contend that the Fourteenth Amendment protects marriage as a fundamental right of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation. Therefore, appellants contend that Section 411, under which the clerk of Declaration County circuit court acted in denying appellants' request for a marriage license, must be unconstitutional. Appellants predicate their contentions on Lawrence v. Texas. Unfortunately for appellants, the holdings of Lawrence are too weak a wind to shift the ship of marriage from its historical and legal course. To understand why Lawrence is inadequate for the purpose for which appellants invoke it, the Court must look to the right of …

Brief, Josh Laws

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Issue One: Whether Section 411 is constitutional under Lawrence v. Texas?, Issue Two: Whether the right to marry is a fundamental right, protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, that must be extended to all persons regardless of sexual orientation?

Living With Lawrence, Nan D. Hunter

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article will proceed in three steps. First, I will examine the Court's treatment of liberty. I see Lawrence as marking the emergence of a new approach to substantive due process analysis, one that has been simmering in the concurring opinions of Justices Souter, Stevens, and Kennedy for the last decade. These three Justices apparently now have a majority for extending meaningful constitutional protection to liberty interests without denominating them as fundamental rights. They also appear to be jettisoning, at least prospectively, a special category for privacy rights. Second, I will turn my attention to the ramifications of Lawrence's equality …

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.

Women's Rights And Children's Rights: A Partnership With Benefits For Both, Jonathan Todres

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article "Women's Rights and Children's Rights: A Partnership with Benefits for Both" by Jonathan Todres explores the interconnectedness of women's and children's rights, arguing that while separate treaties like CEDAW and CRC are beneficial, a holistic approach combining both frameworks is essential for effective protection. It emphasizes that addressing issues like child prostitution in Thailand requires leveraging both women's and children's rights to create comprehensive solutions.