Attorney General Steve Marshall is backing Tennessee after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could have massive implications for Alabama and other states.
The highest court in the nation announced on Monday that it would take up the case involving banning transgender interventions for minors as other Southern states, including Alabama, have enacted similar bans. Of the over 20 states that have passed some sort of ban or restriction on so-called gender-affirming care for minors, all are currently involved in litigation. The Tennessee case is the first such law to be taken up by SCOTUS.
The Tennessee law currently restricts puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors. The Biden administration joined the suit against Tennessee, along with multiple other plaintiffs.
Tennessee passed the law in 2023, but a federal judge quickly blocked it. Last fall, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the injunction and allowed the law to go into effect. The plaintiffs appealed to SCOTUS, asking it to reverse the lower court's decision.
The justices will hear arguments in the case this fall, with a decision likely by late June or early July 2025.
Marshall, who led multiple briefs supporting Tennessee's law and similar laws in other states, said he planned to continue supporting Tennessee as the case is heard in front of the Supreme Court.
"Like in Tennessee, Alabama protects children from harmful, sterilizing sex-change procedures," Marshall said. "That is why we have successfully led briefs in support of Tennessee's law at the lower courts, and we will do so again at the Supreme Court. We expect that the Court will uphold Tennessee's reasonable law once it hears how the Biden Administration has paired with the radical left to prioritize gender ideology over medical science and the safety of kids."
Alabama is currently fighting for its own ban in federal court, and the SCOTUS decision could impact the state's court battle.
In April 2022, Gov. Kay Ivey signed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act (VCAP) (SB184) into law, which prohibits doctors in Alabama from performing transgender operations or prescribing cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers to individuals under 19.
VCAP went into effect on May 8, 2022, but was blocked by U.S. District Judge Liles Burke a few days later. Burke's injunction came after multiple parties added themselves as plaintiffs in a case challenging the law, including five minors identified as transgender through their parents, the United States of America, and Kaitlin Toyama, an attorney-advisor with the civil rights division of the DOJ.
In August 2023, the 11th Circuit ruled the district court had erroneously enjoined state officials from enforcing VCAP. Attorney General Steve Marshall's office then asked the Court to reverse the injunction, pending further litigation. In February, the 11th Circuit granted the state's request and struck down the injunction, allowing the state to enforce VCAP while awaiting a full trial scheduled in August.
VCAP is still being adjudicated in court, with the attention now focused on the plaintiffs' attorneys over alleged misconduct. Hearings are currently underway for 11 attorneys opposing VCAP after Burkes accused them of "judge shopping" and one of lying under oath.
The attorneys represent left-wing groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Possible sanctions include suspension from practice in the Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama, censure, public or private reprimand, disqualification, ineligibility for appointment as court-appointed counsel, ineligibility to appear pro hac vice or on behalf of the United States in the Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama, and monetary sanctions.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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