Court won’t hear Va. appeal over sodomy law
Oct 7, 2013, 1:43 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal of a lower court ruling striking down Virginia’s anti-sodomy law.
The high court on Monday refused to hear from Virginia state officials who wanted to get the state’s ban on oral and anal sex reinstated.
In March, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond declared Virginia’s law unconstitutional.
In 2005, a judge convicted William Scott MacDonald of criminal solicitation for allegedly demanding oral sex from a 17-year-old girl. His conviction occurred two years after the landmark Lawrence v. Texas decision effectively struck down anti-sodomy laws in that state and several others.
Virginia officials said the Texas ruling did not apply to sex acts between adults and minors. The lower court rejected that interpretation and justices won’t reconsider that decision.
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