Justice turnover explains the Court’s reversal in Lawrence.

Evidence

One such factor might be changes in the composition of the Supreme Court. Of the five justices who made up the majority in Bowers, three had retired by the time the Court decided Lawrence. Of the five justices appointed between 1986 and 2003, three voted to overrule Bowers. What may have changed was not the law but who was interpreting it. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2431

Categorization

• XREF: Builds on the chapter-31 material on presidential appointment power and chapter-37 observation that appointees can shift the Court’s direction. — connects to: Supreme Court shifts can be explained by either legal doctrine or judicial politics. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2432; Court composition, public opinion, and justice attitudes explain the Bowers-to-Lawrence reversal. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1210
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: whether post-1986 appointees shifted specifically because of ideology or because intervening case law restructured the question.