1. What did Justice Kennedy mean when he said in his opinion, “The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual”?
2. According to Justice Kennedy, what public policy objective that is impermissible under the Fourteenth Amendment was the State of Texas trying to accomplish through this criminal statute?
3. What conclusion does the U.S. Supreme Court reach?
4. Why does the Court say it reached this conclusion?

Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
Liberty protects the person from unwarranted government intrusions into a dwelling or other private places. In our tradition the State is not omnipresent in the home. And there are other spheres of our lives and existence, outside the home, where the State should not be a dominant presence. Freedom extends beyond spatial bounds. Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate conduct. The instant case involves liberty of the person both in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions.