Quote from: Devlyn Marie on March 06, 2017, 10:15:52 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it being sent back to the Court that supported Gavin?
Hugs, Devlyn
Yes, that's true enough. But that's not going to help. The Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of Gavin, and is now being directed to consider the case again. The problem is that the LAW of the case is now different.
In the first case at Fourth Circuit, here's why Gavin won: A federal statute, Title IX, prohibits discrimination in education on the basis of sex. Title IX was passed many years ago and doesn't contain any explicit language on gender identity. However, the Department of Education (under the Obama administration) had issued guidance and regulations clarifying that transgender students were protected because (in the Department's judgment) discrimination on the basis of gender identity constituted discrimination based on sex, and was therefore prohibited.
It is well-settled federal law that guidance issued by a federal department interpreting a law under its purview is entitled to "deference," i.e. a legal presumption that the department's interpretation is the correct one and should be accepted by the courts. So the National Labor Relations Board is entitled to deference in its interpretation of labor laws, the Department of Treasury is entitled to deference with regard to banking statutes, etc.
When Gavin's case came before the Fourth Circuit, the judges had to determine whether Title IX protected him from discrimination in regards to access to restrooms and locker rooms. To decide this issue, the judges looked to the then-existing DOE guidance, "deferred" to DOE's interpretation that Title IX's prohibition of sex discrimination included a prohibition of discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and therefore ruled that Gavin was protected by Title IX.
That has now changed, which is why the Supreme Court remanded the case to be considered anew.
Here's what changed. Obama's Secretary of Education is gone. Trump appointed Betsy DeVos, an ultra-conservative, as Secretary of Education. DeVos
rescinded the Obama administration DOE guidance that the Fourth Circuit had relied on in Gavin's case.
There is now no authoritative guidance from DOE holding that discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited.Now, the Fourth Circuit has to decide the case again, WITHOUT the DOE guidance they previously relied on. In short, the decision by Trump and DeVos cut the legal legs out from under the Fourth Circuit's previous ruling.
We don't know what the decision will be on remand. But the new DOE policy under the Trump administration has deprived Gavin of his strongest legal argument.
This is a very unfavorable development, and it is directly the result of the changeover from the Obama administration to the Trump administration and the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.
