How Does the Lawrence Precedent Apply in Limons Case?
The opinion in Lawrence was historic. Overruling the 1986 precedent of Bowers v. Hardwick, it denounced the right of a state to criminalize consensual sexual relations between adults. In so doing, the Supreme Court firmed up a zone of privacy surrounding adults’ intimate lives and sexual choices. The technical holding of Lawrence was that individuals have a liberty interest, protected by the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution, in making choices about their intimate lives and in engaging in private, consensual conduct consistent with those choices. The Court tried to draw boundaries around that right, however, by listing a number of factors not presented by the case. One was the presence of minors. Another was the presence of coercion – and a non-forcible type of coercion may arguably be involved in adult/minor sexual relations. Why did the Court take care to distinguish cases involving minors? Minors do not benefit from full constitutional protection in many areas, including s
