The Results of My First Prediction

I said 7-2 on privacy grounds, not equal protection. MSNBC says:

The ruling was based on arguments by the plaintiffs' attorneys that because the two gay men who brought the case were arrested in a private residence while engaging in consensual sex, the raid amounted to an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.

The justices did not address a second legal point raised by the plaintiffs, that by mandating disparate treatment for two classes of citizens, the statute violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

The vote was 6-3 (though apparently 5-4 on the privacy issue; see O'Connor's concurrence). Rehnquist was less concerned about the taint of being on the losing side than I had guessed.

UPDATE: Kennedy's opinion, O'Connor's concurrence (remember that she was in the majority in Bowers), Scalia's dissent, Thomas' dissent. I'll comment as soon as I've read them.

Remember this week when people say the conservatives control the court.