On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada heard oral arguments in Bedford v. Canada, in which several sex workers are challenging three laws related to prostitution (prostitution itself is not a crime in Canada): • Bawdy-House Laws, which make it illegal to operate or be found in a place used for prostitution. These “anti-brothel laws” [...]
Ten years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that a state could not criminalize consensual adult sexual conduct because of a belief that the conduct was immoral. It carefully limited the decision, however, noting that sex work, for example, did not fall within the scope of the liberty right being protected. Thus [...]
This year is the 10th anniversary of Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court decision that found the Texas sodomy law unconstitutional. So – no more worries about sodomy laws, right? Wrong. There are still sodomy laws on the books in 18 states; most of these laws are felonies. You might think they would be dead [...]
The Canadian Supreme Court ruled today in R. v. Mabior [2012 SCC 47] that the law criminalizing failure to disclose HIV positive status to a sexual partner was constitutional only in situations where a realistic risk of transmission could be proved. In a 1998 decision, the court had ruled that failure to disclose vitiated the [...]
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa offered wonderful words of support in July for the world’s LGBT communities. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, however, much more support is sorely needed. Here is a brief survey of recent developments in the region. Ghana. As part of its mandate to provide comprehensive recommendations to improve the country’s 1992 constitution, the [...]
Three LGBT-related cases are making their way through the Iowa state courts this month with Lambda Legal’s help… In Rhoades v. Iowa, the plaintiff, a gay man, was previously convicted of intentionally exposing another person to HIV. His attorney advised him to plead guilty; never mind that the sex was consensual, they used a condom, [...]