A recurring question since marriage equality became legal has been whether religious institutions can freely discriminate in their employment practices against married gay couples, relying on statutory religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws or constitutional claims. In a case involving a food service worker who lost a job with a Catholic girls school, a Massachusetts trial judge ruled on December 16 that the answer is “no,” at least in a case involving a job that plays … <Read More>
Federal Court Refuses to Dismiss Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claim Under Title IX
United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson ruled on December 15 that two students at Pepperdine University could sue the school for sexual orientation discrimination under Title IX, a federal statute that prohibits sex discrimination by educational institutions that receive federal money. Videckis v. Pepperdine University, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167672 (C.D. Calif.). The ruling rejecting the school’s motion to dismiss the discrimination claims advanced by Haley Videckis and Layana White is the first under … <Read More>
Lesbian Mom’s Case Closer To Supreme Court Review
A lesbian mother’s quest for joint custody of the children she had adopted in Georgia and raised together with her former same-sex partner took a step closer to the Supreme Court on Monday, December 14, when the Court granted her “Application for Recall and Stay of Certificate of Judgment of Alabama Supreme Court.” V.L. v. E.L., No. 15-648. V.L. is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a September 18 ruling by the Alabama Supreme … <Read More>
Federal Court Rejects Damage Claim for Pre-Windsor Benefits Denial as Time-Barred
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has rejected an attempt by a former federal government employee to win compensation from the government for its refusal to add his same-sex spouse to his insurance plan from 2004 until 2013. Horvath v. Dodaro, 2015 WL 7566665 (D.D.C., Nov. 24, 2015).
Edward Horvath married Richard Neidich in Massachusetts on June 23, 2004, shortly after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, … <Read More>
7th Circuit Rules Chicago Sheriff Violated First Amendment Rights of Backpage.com by Pressuring Credit Card Companies
Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart violated the 1st Amendment rights of Backpage.com when he sent a letter to the executives of Mastercard and Visa pressuring them to refrain from processing credit card transactions between Backpage and its advertisers, ruled the 7th Circuit on November 30 in a sweeping free speech opinion by Circuit Judge Richard Posner. Backpage.com, LLC v. Dart, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 20728, 2015 WL 7717221.
Wrote Posner, … <Read More>
Lesbian Co-Parent Seeks Expedited Supreme Court Review of Alabama Refusal to Recognize Adoption
Attorneys for V.L., the adoptive mother of children born to her former same-sex partner, have asked the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to review an erroneous decision by the Alabama Supreme Court to refuse to recognize the adoption that was approved by the Georgia Superior Court, and have also asked SCOTUS to restore her visitation rights while the appeal is pending by suspending the Alabama Supreme Court’s order in the case. The petitions were filed on … <Read More>
Oklahoma Supreme Court Uses “In Loco Parentis” Doctrine to Find Co-Parent Standing for Lesbian Mom
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a woman who spent ten years raising a child with her former same-sex partner can use the equitable doctrine of “in loco parentis” to achieve standing to sue for custody or visitation of the child. Ramey v. Sutton, 2015 OK 79. The November 17 opinion, written by Justice Joseph M. Watt, drew on the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26, 2015, marriage equality decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, … <Read More>
Federal Judge Refuses to Dismiss Michigan Transgender ID Case
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a claim by six transgender Michiganders that a state policy governing changes of sex designation on driver’s licenses and personal identification cards violates their constitutional privacy rights. The November 16 ruling in Love v. Johnson, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154338, 2015 WL 7180471 (E.D. Mich), by Senior U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds, finds that transgender people have a fundamental right of privacy under the Due Process Clause … <Read More>
Heightened Scrutiny for Transgender Equal Protection Claim in S.D.N.Y.
For the first time within the 2nd Circuit, a federal district judge has ruled that a transgender person’s equal protection claim will receive “heightened scrutiny” from the court. Senior District Judge Jed Rakoff’s ruling November 15 in Adkins v. City of New York, 2015 Westlaw 7076956, relied on the 2nd Circuit’s decision in Windsor v. United States (which was affirmed on due process grounds by the Supreme Court), finding that anti-gay discrimination merited a … <Read More>
North Carolina Supreme Court Rejects 1st Amendment Challenge to Social Networking Ban for Sex Offenders
The North Carolina Supreme Court has rejected a 1st Amendment challenge to a provision of state law that forbids convicted sex offenders from accessing most commercial social networking websites, such as facebook.com. State v. Packingham, 2015 WL 6777114 (Nov. 6, 2015).
Lester Packingham, a convicted sex offender, established a facebook.com page using the name J.R. Gerrard. A Durham Police Department officer investigating whether any convicted sex offenders were on facebook.com recognized Packingham … <Read More>