Supreme Court sides with Maine Republican censured for transgender athlete post 
Share this @internewscast.com


The Supreme Court ruled that a Maine Republican state lawmaker censured for a post about a transgender athlete must be allowed to vote as she mounts a legal challenge.

Tuesday’s emergency order blocks Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D) and the clerk from preventing State Rep. Laurel Libby (R) from voting or speaking on the floor as she presses claims the block violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. 

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, both members of the court’s liberal wing, dissented. The majority and Sotomayor did not explain their reasoning, but Jackson said the case didn’t present an emergency and would invite others to rush to the Supreme Court.

“Why would any applicant who thinks the lower courts are mistaken wait for those courts’ final word on an issue if real-time error correction via our emergency docket is readily available?” Jackson wrote. 

It marks a significant legal victory for Libby after lower courts declined to intervene. 

Facebook post included transgender student’s name, deadname

The dispute steps from Libby’s Feb. 17 Facebook post that included a transgender high school student’s photo, name and deadname, meaning the name they used before transitioning. The student had won a girls’ track and field championship event in the state.    

Maine’s Democratic-led House censured Libby along party lines in a 75-70 vote. Libby did not challenge the censure itself before the Supreme Court, but she claimed that preventing her from voting or speaking on the floor violates the Constitution’s demand of equal state legislative representation. 

“It would be a remarkable break from history to permit the continued disenfranchisement of thousands of Americans for their chosen representative’s protected speech,” Libby’s attorneys at law firm Consovoy McCarthy wrote in court filings. 

Jackson pushed back in her solo dissent, noting that the lower court was moving quickly to decide the case. 

“Meanwhile, before us, the applicants have not asserted that there are any significant legislative votes scheduled in the upcoming weeks; that there are any upcoming votes in which Libby’s participation would impact the outcome; or that they will otherwise suffer any concrete, imminent, and significant harm while the lower court considers this matter,” Jackson wrote. 

Libby contended Fecteau was effectively forcing her to recant her views opposing transgender athletes in girl’s sports, but Fecteau, represented by Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey’s (D) office, pushed back and described the required apology as a “modest punishment.” 

Frey’s office insisted the lower courts were right to conclude that Libby’s suit is barred by legislative immunity. 

“Applicants ask this Court, through its emergency docket, to insert itself into this intra-parliamentary dispute and, for the first time, pierce legislative immunity for core legislative acts,” the attorney general’s office wrote in court filings. 

The Supreme Court’s decision comes days after it intervened to allow President Trump to enforce his transgender troops ban.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Stay Informed: Heat Warnings Issued for Monday

SAVANNAH, Ga. () —  Monday will again be a Weather Aware day…

Tom Lehrer, Renowned Song Satirist and Mathematician, Passes Away at 97

LOS ANGELES – Tom Lehrer, a well-known and intellectual song satirist who…

Border Patrol Implements Sound Systems to Deter Migrants

() Under President Trump’s administration, military troops aren’t just watching the border.…

US and China to Hold Trade Discussions in Stockholm, Anticipating Trump-Xi Meeting This Year

WASHINGTON – During a meeting in Stockholm, it is highly likely that…

Sheriff’s Office Confirms Human Remains in Ocala National Forest Belong to Missing Lake County Man

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, human…

Thomson Teen Wins Miss Ultimate USA Teen Title in Florida

THOMSON, Ga ()- A local teen was crowned the winner of the…

Michigan Walmart Knife Incident: Man Faces Terrorism and Assault Charges

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — On Sunday, officials announced their intention to…

Alec Baldwin Discusses ‘Peanuts’ and Impact of ‘Rust’ Trial: ‘Aiming to Move On’

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Alec Baldwin mentions that since the surprising conclusion…

Now You Can Use Venmo to Help Reduce America’s Debt

(NewsNation) – Americans looking to chip in to pay off the country’s…

Montrose Drivers Advised to Take Different Roads to Bypass I-70

MONTROSE, Ill. (WCIA) — Drivers in Montrose might want to find a…

Cambodian and Thai Leaders Meet for Ceasefire Talks in Malaysia Amid Fifth Day of Border Violence

SURIN – Leaders from Thailand and Cambodia are convening in Malaysia to…

US and EU Reach Agreement on 15 Percent Tariffs in New Trade Deal

(The Hill) — A trade deal was announced on Sunday by President…