As early as November 2023, three certification applications were filed against the law regulating medical care for transgender minors. Two are archived SkmetiTennessee case, handled by the Biden Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union. One of them was filed in a Kentucky case by Jenner Block.
These cases linger in docket purgatory. John Ellwood provides details:
(Rescheduled before the meeting on March 15, March 22, March 28, April 12, April 19, April 26, and May 9; May 16, May 23, Rescheduled after meetings on May 30, June 6, and June 13))
Seven rescheduled and five relisted! Typically, a case with this record is destined for a denial of certificate, accompanied by an objection to the denial of certificate.
But here, after three months of interrogation purgatory, we got a grant. But in all three cases there was no appropriation. There is only one grant in the DOJ case. The court is (presumably) hearing two other petitions.
The case could be argued around November 2024 – before or shortly after the election. But a decision may not be made until June 2025. If so, the court could avoid the issue entirely. If the court grants the petition from the ACLU and Jenna Bullock, the controversy will continue regardless of the outcome of the election. But the court only granted the Justice Department’s petition, limiting the case’s progress. Perhaps this is what led the court to grant only SG’s request.
This result will be like another green A situation in which an important issue remains unresolved for many years due to a change of government.
