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If the Trump Administration changes its position on the case, it could impact the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing because the federal government is the one who initiated the challenge.
Written by Adam Liptak
Writing from the capital
The case concerning transgender rights being heard by the judges on Wednesday is known as United States v. Skrmetti, which indicates that it is a lawsuit initiated by the federal government.
However, the upcoming change in government control next month will likely result in the Trump administration rejecting the Biden administration’s stance on the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that prohibits certain medical treatments for transgender minors.
This typically implies that if both parties agree that the law is constitutional, there would be no need for the justices to make a decision.
In 2017, a comparable situation occurred when President-elect Donald J. Trump assumed office. In March of that year, the Supreme Court decided not to proceed with a case involving the rights of transgender students. This decision came after the Trump administration changed its stance on the issue. The case focused on whether a transgender boy in Virginia should be allowed to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
However, there is a complication in this situation. Three families and a doctor initially challenged the Tennessee law, with the Biden administration supporting their side. Both the families and the government submitted separate requests for review in the Supreme Court, and the justices chose 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 time. The court may choose to listen to a new argument or refer back to the one presented on Wednesday, where Chase Strangio from the ACLU and Elizabeth B. Prelogar from the U.S. solicitor general’s office will be advocating for the families.
In the past, new administrations typically made few changes to their positions. Unlike the Obama administration, which maintained its positions upon taking office, the Trump administration was more daring. It made significant changes to its positions in four important cases during its first full term in the Supreme Court, including worker rights and voting rolls, and succeeded in all four cases.
The Biden administration did not hesitate to change its stance on various issues, distancing itself from the approaches taken by the Trump administration in five instances. However, it was unsuccessful in four of these cases, as reported by Thomas Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Adam Liptak writes about the Supreme Court and legal news in his column called Sidebar. He attended Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The Times in 2002. Learn more about Adam Liptak.
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