First openly transgender lawyer to argue at US Supreme Court

Source: Reuters

October 21, 2024 4:13 PM EDT Updated 10 hours ago


Oct 21 (Reuters) - An American Civil Liberties Union lawyer will make history in December as the first openly transgender attorney to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, opposing Tennessee's Republican-backed law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.

The ACLU's Chase Strangio, 41, represents a group of transgender people who pursued a lawsuit challenging the measure that prohibits medical treatments including hormones and surgeries for minors experiencing gender dysphoria. In one of the most consequential cases of the court's current nine-month term, the nine justices will hear arguments on Dec. 4 in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of a lower court's decision upholding Tennessee's ban.

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that the argument time for the ban's challengers be divided between the Justice Department and attorneys representing the original plaintiffs who sued the state. Strangio will present the arguments for these plaintiffs at the lectern in the ornate courtroom.

ACLU Legal Director Cecillia Wang called Strangio the leading U.S. legal expert on transgender rights. "He brings to the lectern not only brilliant constitutional lawyering, but also the tenacity and heart of a civil rights champion," Wang said.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/first-openly-transgender-lawyer-argue-us-supreme-court-2024-10-21/