31:
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on Baker's behalf with the United States
Supreme Court. The attorneys general of 26 states, including 10 states with sodomy laws, urged the Court to take the case, arguing that the Court should reject the intervention of the Fifth Circuit because the decision of a state attorney general to withdraw
90:
563 F.Supp 1121 (N.D. Tex. 1982), rev'd 769 F.2nd 289 (5th Cir. 1985) (en banc) cert denied 478 US 1022 (1986) is a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the sodomy law of the state of Texas. Plaintiff Donald Baker contended that the law violated his rights to privacy and equal protection.
217:
sodomy law, which criminalized all sodomy regardless of the gender or marital status of the individuals involved in the conduct. The Court upheld
Georgia's sodomy law on June 30, 1986, ruling that there was no privacy right to engage in sodomy. The Supreme Court denied certiorari on July 7.
113:
adopted a revised Penal Code which included section 21.06: "A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex." The law carried a maximum penalty of $ 200 but the existence of the law served to stigmatize
128:
as constitutional. A number of gay rights organizations in Texas sought to repeal the state's sodomy law legislatively but were unsuccessful. The Texas Human Rights
Foundation (THRF), composed largely of attorneys from across the state, believed that the
191:, but the full Fifth Circuit voted to hear Hill's appeal. On August 26, 1985, the Fifth Circuit voted 9−7 to reverse the district court and uphold the sodomy statute. On October 23 the Court denied Baker's request for a re-hearing.
182:
invests the power to represent the state in civil litigation solely with the
Attorney General, so withdrawing the appeal ordinarily would have ended the case. However, district attorney Danny Hill, recently elected to represent
149:
and Dallas city attorney Lee Holt as defendants and, because THRF wanted any affirmative ruling to apply statewide, included each of the 1,085 city, county and district attorneys in the state as part of the defendant class. The
161:
in June 1981 and lasted two days. On August 17, 1982, Buchmeyer ruled in favor of Baker on
Constitutional grounds, finding that the law violated Baker's right to personal privacy and equal protection under the laws.
989:
142:
137:
to challenge the law on
Constitutional grounds before the federal court in Dallas, Texas. Donald F. Baker, president of the Dallas Gay Alliance and a Dallas teacher who had lost his job with the
187:, along with a group of physicians called "Dallas Doctors Against AIDS", petitioned the court to force the state to appeal. Judge Buchmeyer denied the petition, as did a panel of the
52:
Donald F. Baker, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Henry Wade, District
Attorney of Dallas County, Texas, Etc., et al., Defendants, Danny E. Hill, 47th District Attorney, Defendant-Appellant
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case failed because the plaintiff was anonymous, and so conducted a search to find someone to be the named (and visible) plaintiff in a
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after coming out in a television interview, agreed to be the sole plaintiff, and the suit was filed on
November 19, 1979, in the
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The Texas sodomy law persisted until 2003, when the
Supreme Court struck it and every remaining state anti-sodomy law down in
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After a victory at trial, an appellate court reversed the lower court's decision and in the wake of its decision in
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The right to privacy does not cover acts of homosexual sodomy. The Texas sodomy law does not violate due process.
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an appeal should have ended its consideration. By the time the writ was filed, the
Supreme Court had accepted
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563 F.Supp 1121 (N.D. Tex. 1982), rev'd 769 F.2nd 289 (5th Cir. 1985) (en banc) cert denied 478 US 1022 (1986)
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filed an appeal on November 1, 1982. Following an election later that month, the new Attorney General,
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office intervened on behalf of the state, but no one else in the defendant class intervened.
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Rainbow Rights: The Role of Lawyers and Courts in the Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Movement
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124:(425 US 901) the United States Supreme Court upheld the sodomy law of the Commonwealth of
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251: (United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit October 23, 1985).
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United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
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Courting Justice: Gay Men and Lesbians v. the Supreme Court
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United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit cases
291: (Supreme Court of the United States 2003-06-26).
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United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
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Phil Johnson Historic Archives and Research Library
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145:. The suit named Dallas County District Attorney
915:Gay Student Services v. Texas A&M University
170:Wade decided not to appeal but Attorney General
157:The case went to trial before US District Judge
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118:residents of Texas as criminals. In 1976 in
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121:Doe v. Commonwealth's Attorney of Richmond
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734:Marriage of Billie Ert and Antonio Molina
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840:Transgender Education Network of Texas
729:Lutheran High School North controversy
437:Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
318:Murdoch, Joyce and Deb Price (2001).
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805:Lesbian Health Initiative of Houston
780:Dallas Metropolitan Community Church
980:United States LGBTQ rights case law
307:(revised edition). Westview Press.
724:1977 Houston Anita Bryant protests
139:Dallas Independent School District
99:Supreme Court of the United States
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845:Transgender Foundation of America
540:Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon
935:James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Act
928:In re Marriage of J.B. and H.B.
800:Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus
685:The Nuntius & Our Community
985:1985 in United States case law
870:Recognition of same-sex unions
189:Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
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795:Houston GLBT Community Center
790:Gulf Coast Archive and Museum
754:Walt Whitman Community School
922:Houston, Texas Proposition 1
613:Bishop Arts District, Dallas
749:Village Station police raid
672:Gay Men's Chorus of Houston
178:, withdrew the appeal. The
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303:Cain, Patricia A. (2000).
660:Bayou City Women's Chorus
322:. New York: Basic Books.
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16:U.S. court case on sodomy
739:Murder of Paul Broussard
530:Just Marion & Lynn's
442:Houston Gay Pride Parade
152:Texas Attorney General's
901:Defense of Marriage Act
698:Regal Crest Enterprises
596:Montrose Mining Company
101:refused to review it.
1005:1985 in LGBTQ history
633:Pink Dolphin Monument
249:769 F.2nd 289
244:Baker v. Wade, et al.
194:On January 18, 1986,
703:Turtle Creek Chorale
510:EJ's Bar & Grill
462:Tarrant County Pride
422:Bunnies on the Bayou
957:Texas Proposition 2
949:Littleton v. Prange
835:Transgender Archive
744:Rainbow Lounge raid
490:Brazos River Bottom
654:The A-List: Dallas
525:JR's Bar and Grill
427:Dallas Black Pride
330:. pp. 345–54.
315:. pp. 176–77.
289:539 US 558
269:478 US 186
263:Bowers v. Hardwick
210:Bowers v. Hardwick
180:Texas Constitution
94:Bowers v. Hardwick
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896:Dallas Principles
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830:Queer Liberaction
775:Cathedral of Hope
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623:Montrose, Houston
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535:Michael's Outpost
391:Dallas–Fort Worth
283:Lawrence v. Texas
224:Lawrence v. Texas
213:, a challenge to
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907:De Leon v. Perry
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565:South Beach
500:Chances Bar
495:Briar Patch
401:San Antonio
974:Categories
520:Guava Lamp
298:References
204:certiorari
176:Jim Mattox
172:Mark White
147:Henry Wade
105:Background
618:Hyde Park
135:test case
109:In 1974,
66:Citations
863:By topic
692:OutSmart
485:Blur Bar
198:filed a
126:Virginia
716:History
560:Ripcord
452:QCinema
396:Houston
379:By city
372:Culture
215:Georgia
166:Appeals
58:Decided
960:(2005)
952:(1999)
944:(2003)
931:(2009)
918:(1984)
910:(2015)
892:(1985)
855:Rights
591:Meteor
586:Mary's
579:Closed
478:Venues
471:Places
410:Events
386:Austin
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311:
287:,
267:,
247:,
647:Media
515:F Bar
231:Notes
111:Texas
38:Court
324:ISBN
309:ISBN
200:writ
116:LGBT
97:the
202:of
131:Doe
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227:.
357:e
350:t
343:v
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