The case of Poe et al. v. Gerstein et al., 1973, revolved around the constitutionality of a Florida statute that prohibited unmarried couples from using contraceptives and allowed law enforcement to search homes for violations. The plaintiffs were an unmarried couple who challenged this law on grounds that it violated their right to privacy under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. However, the Supreme Court dismissed their case as moot because they failed to show any immediate threat or injury due to this law since no prosecutions had been made under it in decades nor was there any evidence suggesting imminent prosecution against them specifically. Therefore, while acknowledging potential constitutional issues with such laws, the court did not make a definitive ruling on its validity.

In the dissenting opinion for Poe et al. v. Gerstein et al., Justice William O. Douglas argued that the majority's decision to dismiss the case as moot was incorrect and premature, given that it involved a recurring issue of significant public interest - namely, Florida's law criminalizing cohabitation between unmarried individuals of opposite sexes. He contended that this law violated privacy rights protected by both Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, asserting an individual’s right to choose their lifestyle without government interference unless there is a compelling state interest at stake. Furthermore, he criticized his colleagues' reluctance to address these important constitutional questions due to procedural technicalities such as standing or mootness issues which could be easily resolved in future cases involving similar facts and legal issues.