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The outcome of the case before the Supreme Court may be influenced by a change in administration, as the federal government is the one who initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the nation
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday regarding trans rights is titled United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
However, with a new government in control next month, it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s stance that a Tennessee law restricting certain medical treatments for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
Typically, if both parties involved in a case agree that the law in question is constitutional, there would be no need for the justices to make a decision.
In 2017, a similar situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump was inaugurated. Following the Trump administration’s change in stance on transgender student rights, the Supreme Court decided to drop a case involving a transgender boy’s right to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school in Virginia.
However, there is a complication in this situation. Three families and a doctor were the ones who first challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration stepping in to support them. Both the families and the government submitted requests for the Supreme Court to review the case separately, but the justices decided to only accept the government’s petition.
Instead of immediately rejecting the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later date. They may choose to listen to a new argument or refer to the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the American Civil Liberties Union and Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations typically did not make many changes to existing positions. However, the Obama administration did not change any positions when it took office. On the other hand, the first Trump administration was more daring and changed positions in four significant cases during its first full term in the Supreme Court. These cases included workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration was successful in all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change its stance on certain issues, as it publicly rejected the strategies of the previous Trump administration five times. 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 updates in his column, Sidebar. He attended Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before beginning his career at The New York Times in 2002.
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