Prom
If the Trump Administration changes its position, it could impact the outcome of the case being heard by the Supreme Court because the federal government initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Updating from the United
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday concerns trans rights and is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
The government will undergo a change in leadership next month, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s claim that a Tennessee law, which prohibits certain medical treatments for transgender minors, goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would indicate that there is no longer any issue for the judges to resolve, as both parties would agree that the law is constitutional.
In 2017, a similar incident occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. In March of that year, the Trump administration changed its stance on the rights of transgender students, leading to the Supreme Court dropping a case regarding a transgender boy in Virginia wanting to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
However, there is a complication in this situation. Three families and a doctor originally challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration joining their side. Both the families and the government submitted separate requests for a review in the Supreme Court, but only the government’s petition was accepted by the justices.
Instead of rejecting the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. They may choose to consider a different argument or refer back to the one presented on Wednesday. During this hearing, the families’ lawyer, Chase Strangio from the ACLU, will present their case alongside Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically made few changes to existing positions. The Obama administration, for example, did not reverse any positions when it took office. However, the first Trump administration was more daring and made significant changes to positions in four major cases during its first full Supreme Court term. These changes included cases related to workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration was successful in all four cases.
The Biden administration was unafraid to change their stance on issues, as shown by their rejection of the Trump administration’s methods in five instances. However, they were unsuccessful in four of those cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who focuses on reporting about the Supreme Court and legal news in his column called Sidebar. He earned his law degree from Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The New York Times in 2002. To learn more about Adam Liptak, visit his
Prom
Index of the website
Navigation for site information