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What will occur with the case if the Trump Administration changes its stance? The outcome of the case before the Supreme Court may be impacted by the change in administration since the federal government initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Reporting live from the
The case about transgender rights being heard by the judges on Wednesday is known as United States v. Skrmetti, indicating that it is a legal dispute initiated by the federal government.
However, the government’s leadership will shift next month, and it is highly likely that the Trump administration will reject the Biden administration’s assertion that a Tennessee law prohibiting certain medical treatments for transgender minors is unconstitutional.
Typically, this would indicate that the justices would have no more decisions to make, since both parties would then agree that the law is constitutional.
In 2017, a similar situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump began his term. In March of that year, the Trump administration changed its stance on transgender student rights, leading the Supreme Court to drop a case involving a transgender boy in Virginia who wanted to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
However, there is a complication in this situation. Three families and a doctor were the original challengers of the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration stepping in to support them. Both the families and the government submitted their own requests for the Supreme Court to review the case, but the justices decided to only accept the petition from the government.
Instead of immediately closing the case, the court has the option to approve the companion petition at a later time. The court may choose to listen to a different argument or use the one presented on Wednesday by Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general for the Biden administration, who will be arguing on behalf of the families.
Historically, new administrations were known for making minimal changes to their positions. However, the Obama administration maintained its stance on all issues when it took office. In contrast, the first Trump administration was more daring, shifting positions on four significant cases during its first full term in the Supreme Court. These cases included matters related to workers’ rights and voting rolls, and the administration succeeded in all four instances.
The Biden administration was not hesitant to change their stance on certain issues. They rejected the approaches taken by the Trump administration on five occasions, but were unsuccessful in four of those instances, 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 legal news. He attended Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The New York Times in 2002. For additional information about Adam Liptak, please visit this link.
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