Prom
If the Trump administration changes its position, it could impact the outcome of the case before the Supreme Court since the federal government initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the capital
The case being heard by the justices on Wednesday is about trans rights and is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal challenge initiated by the federal government.
The government’s control will shift next month, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s claim that a Tennessee law prohibiting certain medical treatments for transgender minors goes against the Constitution.
Typically, this would imply that there is no need for the judges to make a decision, since both parties would acknowledge that the law is constitutional.
In 2017, a comparable situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. Later that year, the Supreme Court decided to dismiss a case regarding the rights of transgender students, specifically in relation to a transgender boy in Virginia seeking to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school, after the Trump administration changed its stance on the issue.
However, there is a complication in this situation. Three families and a doctor initially challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration supporting their cause. Both the families and the government submitted petitions to the Supreme Court for review, but only the government’s petition was accepted by the justices.
Instead of immediately rejecting the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. They may choose to listen to a new argument or use the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar from the U.S. solicitor general’s office, who is representing the Biden administration.
In the past, new administrations would rarely change their positions. When Obama took office, there were no changes in positions. However, the first Trump administration was more bold in this regard. It changed positions in four significant cases during its first full Supreme Court term, including ones related to workers’ rights and voting rolls, and it was successful in all four cases.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change their stance on issues, as they openly rejected the methods of the previous Trump administration in five instances. However, they were unsuccessful in four of these cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak reports on the activities of the Supreme Court and pens a column called Sidebar, which focuses on changes in the legal field. After earning his law degree from Yale Law School, he worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting at The New York Times in 2002. Learn more about Adam Liptak.
Prom
Index of the Website
Navigation to Information on the