From Law:

Abstract

Stigmatization of homosexuals is a function of homophobia which can be detected in judicial decision making in the United States as it can be detected in other aspects of society. The extent to which legal principles are distored by such stigmatization can be observed in a close analysis of three cases affecting the legal rights of homosexuals: Bowers v. Hardwick (a decision by the Supreme Court upholding a Georgia law criminalizing all anal or oral sex, Padula v. Webster (a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upholding the Federal Bureau of Investigation's right to refuse to hire a lesbian), and Constant A. v. Paul C.A., (a decision by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania denying joint custody of children to a divorced lesbian).