Minnesota’s right to privacy

Minnesota law once deemed non-commercial acts of “sodomy” (defined as oral or anal sex) between consenting adults in private to be gross misdemeanors, punishable by fines of up to $3,000 and/or up to a year in jail. In practice, however, the law was rarely enforced. In June, 2000, the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court claiming the statute violated the Minnesota constitution’s right to privacy.

In May, 2001, Judge Delila Pierce ruled that the Minnesota sodomy law did violate the state constitution’s privacy guarantees. Judge Pierce’s decision followed numerous rulings by state courts around the country since 1986 overturning such laws on state constitutional grounds.

Concerned that the State might not appeal the decision, the MCLU asked Judge Pierce to certify the group of plaintiffs as a statewide class, a move designed to give the decision effect beyond Hennepin County. On July 2, 2001, Judge Pierce granted this motion. The State failed to appeal either ruling. As a result, effective September 1, 2001, the Minnesota sodomy law ceased to be enforceable in the context of adult, non-commercial, private, consensual sexual activities.

Subsequently, on March 21, 2002, federal district Judge Michael J. Davis ruled in a separate challenge to the same law that “because the State of Minnesota … never appealed [Judge Pierce’s] decision, that decision is now binding state law. Accordingly, as it stands, Minnesota’s sodomy law is unconstitutional … [and other counties are] bound by the decision.” Thus, although the statute remains on the books, the era of its enforceability in the context most critical to GLBT people has come to an end.