Tag Archives: Fourth Circuit Court

The Huffington Post reports: The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Allison Jones Rushing, 37, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, making her the youngest federal judge in the country. The Senate voted 53-44 to put Rushing into the lifetime court seat. Every Republican present voted for her. Every Democrat present opposed her. Democrats raised a number …

Raleigh’s NBC affiliate reports: A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge to a North Carolina law that allows magistrates to refuse to perform same-sex marriages. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Wednesday that three couples who sued to overturn the law lack standing to challenge the law’s use of taxpayer funds. Two gay couples …

The Hill reports: A Richmond, Va.-based federal appeals court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Trump’s ban on nationals from six majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., delivering a major blow to the Trump administration. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said in its ruling that Trump’s executive order “speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips …

USA Today reports: The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up the controversial issue of transgender rights, instantly transforming what had loomed as a holding-pattern term with only eight justices into one featuring another major social policy issue. The justices will consider a Virginia school district’s challenge to Obama administration regulations requiring that schools allow transgender students to use restrooms …

A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals just denied the stay motion filed Wednesday by Virginia’s Gloucester County School Board, which seeks to thwart the federal mandate on transgender student rights. That filing two days ago had triggered an automatic stay on the pro-trans April order while the Court considered their demand. The vote today was 2-1. …

NOTE: An important clarification is below. Earlier: That was amazingly fast. Patch.com reports: A stay has been issued in the case of a Virginia school’s transgender bathroom policy, meaning the case will go before the Supreme Court of the United States, according to a report. The Gloucester County School Board passed a policy restricting students to restrooms reflecting their “biological …

Big news via the ACLU: The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will not rehear the case of a Gloucester County transgender high school student suing his school board over discriminatory bathroom policies. The court today denied the Gloucester County School Board’s request for an en banc review of an April decision which held that Title IX …

This is a major setback for supporters of North Carolina’s hate law: The Supreme Court announced Monday, over the dissent of one conservative justice, that it will not review a legal precedent key to an appeals court ruling last month requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. The justices declined to take …

“This court victory affirms that there is no commonsense reason to bar transgender students from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity and that doing so is discriminatory and harmful. This ruling sets precedent in five states, including North Carolina, where Republican legislators and the Republican governor have embraced the exact type of discrimination that the court today …

McCrory is very unhappy about this “major, major change in social norms.” NC Capitol reports on Facebook: Gov. Pat McCrory spoke to reporters today after getting word about the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the Virginia transgender student case. The ruling could directly affect North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2. The governor says he will abide by the …

Lambda Legal says this is a “game changer.” Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the Department of Education’s interpretation of existing federal civil rights laws to protect transgender people against discrimination in education. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the department’s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments …

Via the Washington Post: North Carolina lawmakers said they will file a petition this week with the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal regarding marriage for same-sex couples. “We’ve said all along North Carolina voters deserve to have their voices heard, and this important issue won’t ever be settled until a final decision is made by the U.S. Supreme …

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson yesterday petitioned the Fourth Circuit Court, asking that they not rule on his marriage appeal until the Supreme Court issues a decision on the cases out of Sixth Circuit. Wilson, like his counterparts in several other states, is desperately trying to keep his case alive so that marriage equality can be undone should SCOTUS …

Yesterday the Fourth Circuit Court refused South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s demand to continue the stay on same-sex marriages during his appeal. Almost simultaneously, a separate federal court ruled that South Carolina must recognize out-of-state marriages, prompting Wikipedia’s marriage map monitor to apply the above blue stripes of progress. Late last night Wilson took his stay extension demand to …

Read the full demand at Equality Case Files.

UPDATE: Lambda Legal reacts via press release: Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the State of South Carolina’s motion to stay last week’s U.S. District Court ruling striking down the state’s discriminatory marriage ban, setting the stage for marriages to begin for same-sex couples at Noon on Thursday, November 20. South Carolina’s Attorney General filed …

The stay on South Carolina same-sex marriages is due to expire on Thursday. Late last night the plaintiffs in that case filed a motion in opposition to state Attorney General Alan Wilson’s demand that the stay be continued while he flails about with appeals. Via the Post & Courier: “Currently 34 states permit same-sex couples to marry, or recognize marriages …

“Today’s ruling comes as no surprise and does not change the constitutional obligation of this office to defend South Carolina law, including, but not necessarily limited to, appeal to the Fourt Circuit. Therefore we will immediately appeal to the Fourth Circuit. Also, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld traditional marriage. Therefore, we have opposing rulings between federal circuits, …

 Via the Associated Press: A federal judge should dismiss a challenge to South Carolina’s constitutional ban on gay marriage following last week’s federal appeals court ruling upholding such bans in other states, Attorney General Alan Wilson says in legal arguments filed Monday. “The recent tide of same-sex marriage cases has run squarely into the extremely well- reasoned opinion” by the …

Via Raleigh’s News & Observer: Within hours of a split ruling by a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upholding gay marriage bans in four states, attorneys for North Carolina legislative leaders filed notice in the federal courts of their plans to appeal rulings in North Carolina that struck down a gay marriage ban. The court document, filed by …