LGBTQ Legal Issues

Chemerinsky: A look back at the Supreme Court’s October 2018 term

There was much that was unusual about the U.S. Supreme Court’s October 2018 term, writes Erwin Chemerinsky, law dean at the University of California at Berkeley. What should be gleaned?

Jul 2, 2019 2:18 PM CDT

New York legislature OKs ban on gay and trans ‘panic defenses’

New York is poised to join the increasing number of states that are banning gay and trans “panic defenses” in murder cases. As the ABA Journal reported in January, legislatures have increasingly considered this type of ban.

Jun 26, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Despite LGBT opposition, lawyer who represented Christian bakers is confirmed as federal judge

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Matthew Kacsmaryk to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas despite opposition from dozens of groups supporting LGBT rights. Kacsmaryk was deputy general counsel at First Liberty Institute, a group that litigates religious liberty cases, report Texas Lawyer, Courthouse News Service,…

Jun 21, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court remands case of Oregon bakers who refused to make same-sex wedding cake

The U.S. Supreme Court told Oregon courts Monday to take another look at the case of former bakery owners who were fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The Supreme Court vacated an Oregon Court of Appeals decision upholding the fine and told…

Jun 17, 2019 12:17 PM CDT

Florist can’t refuse to provide flowers for same-sex wedding, state supreme court rules again

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled again against a Christian florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex couple’s wedding on the grounds that it would violate her religion.

Jun 7, 2019 10:55 AM CDT

ABA group offers $5K scholarships to support LGBT public interest work

Law students or recent law school graduates who plan to work in the LGBTQ public interest field still have a few days to apply for a new scholarship being offered by the ABA's Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Jun 6, 2019 10:12 AM CDT

Cases on BigLaw partner’s suicide, school’s trans bathroom policy turned down by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has left intact a federal appeals court ruling against the widow of a Reed Smith partner who blamed antidepressant labeling for her husband’s suicide. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago had overturned a $3 million award to Wendy Dolin, who alleged that GlaxoSmithKline…

May 28, 2019 1:16 PM CDT

Nondiscrimination policy at Yale Law School is legal but perhaps should be changed, lawyers say

Updated: A nondiscrimination policy at Yale Law School, which prohibits fellowship funding with organizations that won’t hire applicants who are gay, probably does not violate any federal laws. Nevertheless, some legal experts say that the institution might want to rethink how it is written. In April, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz,…

May 1, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

New law school survey tracks inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals

In terms of openly gay faculty members, the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, with 14, may have the most, according to a new survey from the National LGBT Bar Association. The Law School Climate Survey uses the term LGBTQ+, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender…

Apr 25, 2019 2:13 PM CDT

Catholic foster care agency loses fight over refusing to place kids with same-sex couples

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the city of Philadelphia can sever its contract with a Catholic foster care agency that refuses to place children with same-sex couples. In its opinion, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Philadelphia held that Catholic Social Services’…

Apr 23, 2019 11:02 AM CDT

SCOTUS will consider sexual orientation, transgender discrimination under Title VII

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted three petitions regarding whether Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status.

Apr 22, 2019 1:01 PM CDT

Equality Act would afford federal protections to LGBTQ+ individuals, ABA president says

ABA President Bob Carlson sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, urging members to support the Equality Act of 2019, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. In the letter, Carlson explained that the legislation would include LGBTQ+ individuals in the…

Apr 2, 2019 4:04 PM CDT

ABA develops guide for drafting laws to ban controversial conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors

An online and printed resource will help develop state statutes and tribal codes to ban a controversial practice aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Apr 1, 2019 12:55 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: A look back at the Supreme Court’s October 2018 term

New York legislature OKs ban on gay and trans ‘panic defenses’

Despite LGBT opposition, lawyer who represented Christian bakers is confirmed as federal judge

Supreme Court remands case of Oregon bakers who refused to make same-sex wedding cake

Florist can’t refuse to provide flowers for same-sex wedding, state supreme court rules again

ABA group offers $5K scholarships to support LGBT public interest work

Cases on BigLaw partner’s suicide, school’s trans bathroom policy turned down by Supreme Court

Nondiscrimination policy at Yale Law School is legal but perhaps should be changed, lawyers say

New law school survey tracks inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals

Catholic foster care agency loses fight over refusing to place kids with same-sex couples

SCOTUS will consider sexual orientation, transgender discrimination under Title VII

Equality Act would afford federal protections to LGBTQ+ individuals, ABA president says

ABA develops guide for drafting laws to ban controversial conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors

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