Category Archives: U.S. Circuit Courts
Federal appeals panel: trans ban is ‘military decision’
A federal appeals panel said courts must give due deference to the military in evaluating the Trump administration's ban on transgender service members, but there was enough in the ruling to give LGBT legal activists hope of eventually striking down
Appeals court: No exemption for religious views
A federal appeals panel in Philadelphia ruled Monday that a Catholic-run child placement agency's religious views do not entitle it to an exemption from the city's law prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination.
Trump nominates gay man to Ninth Circuit appeals court
President Trump this month nominated an openly gay federal prosecutor to serve on the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court. It was his first gay appeals appointment; his second gay judicial appointment.
Federal appeals panel rules Title VII protects transgender
A federal appeals panel in Detroit this month ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act --which prohibits discrimination based on sex in employment-- also prohibits discrimination based on transgender status.
7th Circuit: Title VII protects sexual orientation
A full federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation -- a ruling that will almost certainly be heading to the U.S. Supreme Court for final resolution.
Surprises embedded in Second Circuit ruling; may improve prospects at Supreme Court
The ruling by a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel was not a big surprise. But the panel’s related ruling—that laws should be held to a heightened standard of review when they treat people differently because of their sexual
Ninth Circuit refuses full court review; Prop 8 headed to Supreme Court
A glimmer of politics showed through Tuesday (June 5) when the full 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declined a request from supporters of California’s ban on same-sex marriage to review a circuit panel’s decision that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.
First Circuit: DOMA unconstitutional; next stop: Supreme Court
A unanimous three-judge panel of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled today (Thursday, May 31) that the core part of the Defense of Marriage Act, barring federal recognition of marriages of same-sex couples, is unconstitutional.
First circuit drills down on DOMA
BOSTON — A three-judge panel in Boston heard oral arguments Wednesday (April 4) in the first challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to reach a federal appeals court.
Prop 8 ruling: crafted to avoid Supreme Court review
Calling Proposition 8 “remarkably similar” to Colorado’s anti-gay Amendment 2 in 1992, a divided federal appeals court panel in San Francisco ruled Tuesday (February 7) that California’s same-sex marriage ban violates the federal constitution.
