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LAWRENCE v. TEXAS

No. 02-102.

539 U.S. 558 (2003)

LAWRENCE et al. v. TEXAS

Supreme Court of United States.

Decided June 26, 2003.

Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Paul M. Smith argued the cause for petitioners. With him on the briefs were William M. Hohengarten, Daniel Mach, Mitchell Katine, Ruth E. Harlow, Patricia M. Logue, and Susan L. Sommer.

Charles A. Rosenthal, Jr., argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were William J. Delmore III and Scott A. Durfee.*

KENNEDY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which STEVENS, SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ., joined. O'CONNOR, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, p. 579. SCALIA, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which REHNQUIST, C. J., and THOMAS, J., joined, p. 586. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, p. 605.

JUSTICE KENNEDY delivered the opinion of the Court.

Liberty protects the person from unwarranted government intrusions into a dwelling or other private places. In our tradition the State is not omnipresent in the home. And there are other spheres of our lives and existence, outside the home, where the State should not be a dominant presence. Freedom extends beyond spatial bounds. Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that...

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