Bowers v. Hardwick

In August 1982, respondent Hardwick (hereafter respondent) was charged with violating the Georgia statute crimi*188nalizing sodomy1 by committing that act with another adult male in the bedroom of respondent’s home. After a preliminary hearing, the District Attorney decided not to present the matter to the grand jury unless further evidence developed.

Respondent then brought suit in the Federal District Court, challenging the constitutionality of the statute insofar as it criminalized consensual sodomy.2 He asserted that he was a practicing homosexual, that the Georgia sodomy statute, as…