Case Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Law - Essay ExampleThe counselling of this report will be to examine the two decisions to discover the inconsistencies and assess the reasons for them. The basic issue at stake in both the cases is that of defining the extent of individual liberty and freedoms that may be exercised below the constitutional amendments to the Constitution in the context of the wider moral framework of public morality and codes of behavior.The suit was brought by defendant Hardwick who was charged by the tabun State Government for criminal violation of the states statute that criminalized sodomy. Hardwick challenged the constitutionality of his criminal conviction, since it violated his thorough rights. The District Court supported the States part but the Court of Appeals reversed the decision. However, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Georgia statute. In connection with the issue of fundamental rights of the defendant, the Court stated None of the fundamental rights annou nced in this Courts prior cases involving family relationships, marriage, or procreation make each resemblance to the right asserted in this case. And any claim that those cases stand for the proposition that any kind of private sexual proceed between consenting adults is constitutionally insulated from state proscription is unendurable pp 190-191The Supreme Court supported its position by quoting the case of Stanley v Georgia3..the fact that paederastic conduct occurs in the privacy of the home does not affect the result. (pp 195-196). During the period when this case was prosecuted in the courts, most states had laws that criminalized homosexual behavior between two consenting adults even if it was carried on in the privacy of their bedrooms and the decision reflected the prevailing view of the majority of Americans about the illegality of homosexual behavior. A 5-4 majority in the Supreme Court upheld Georgia laws on sodomy which criminalized the act on grounds of