Trans Idaho athlete’s request to dismiss case denied. Supreme Court could be next

A transgender Idaho athlete’s request to dismiss her lawsuit against the state was denied by a federal judge. | Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — A federal judge in Idaho on Tuesday denied a request from the transgender Boise State University student who asked that the court dismiss her case against Gov. Brad Little over the state’s law banning transgender women and girls from women’s sports. The student, Lindsay Hecox, last month filed a notice to dismiss the lawsuit, which is pending review by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge David Nye said the state has a “fair right to have its arguments heard and adjudicated once and for all” and that dismissing the case would leave “critical questions in limbo.” “The court feels this mootness argument is, as above, somewhat manipulative to avoid Supreme Court review and should not be endorsed,” Nye wrote in a footnote in the ruling. RELATED | Supreme Court will rule on Idaho’s transgender athletics ban Hecox first filed the lawsuit in 2020, when she was a freshman at Boise State, shortly after the Idaho Legislature became the first to pass a law, House Bill 500, that banned transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports. The U.S. District Court in Idaho issued an injunction in 2020, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the injunction, according to previous Statesman reporting. Last year, the state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, and in July, it said it would. The Supreme Court also agreed to hear a similar case about a West Virginia teenager whose family challenged a state law requiring students to participate in sports that correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Attorneys for Hecox also filed a notice with the Supreme Court on Sept. 2 on her request for dismissal, saying if she continued with the lawsuit, she would face more harassment that would impact her health, safety and ability to graduate. RELATED | ‘You just want to feel safe’: Transgender youth fights for bathroom access in Jerome In a statement Tuesday, Labrador celebrated the District Court ruling and said “Idaho’s daughters deserve fair competition based on biological reality.” “The District Court has ruled that after years of litigation, Idaho has earned the right to present our case to the nation’s highest court,” he said in a news release. “This decision keeps our lawsuit alive, and I won’t stop until women and girls are safe to compete, participate, and excel in competitive sports.” The American Civil Liberties Union said Hecox isn’t participating in any women’s athletic programs covered by the bill and wants to prioritize finishing her degree at Boise State. “Lindsay withdrew her challenge to Idaho’s HB 500 and that remains unchanged,” spokesperson Rebecca De León said in an email. “We will continue to advocate for the rights of all women and girls, including transgender women and girls.”The post Trans Idaho athlete’s request to dismiss case denied. Supreme Court could be next appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com