Will The Supreme Court Hear Its First Transgender Case This Year?

The high court may rule on a trans teen's right to use the bathroom.
From: NewNowNext

 When the U.S. Supreme Court reconvened on October 3, 2016  it agreed to take up a case involving transgender rights for the first time.

 Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old trans student at Gloucester High School in Virginia, has filed suit against administrators for the right to use the boy’s bathroom and locker rooms.

In June, 2016, an appeals court ruled in Grimm’s favor, agreeing that forcing him to use the women’s room was a violation of his Title IX protections against sex discrimination.

The school board then was asking the high court to hear its appeal.

Oral arguments were scheduled to start March 28th, however; last week, the Trump administration announced an effective rollback of an Obama administration policy that extended protections against sexual discrimination to people who identify as transgender -- throwing a potential wrench in Grimm’s case before it heads to the high court. Attorneys on both sides are required to update the court on Wednesday, and may change the SCOTUS decision on hearing this case.

Should SCOTUS decline to hear the case, the appeals ruling stands and Grimm remains victorious. But if the justices put it on their docket, their verdict will have implications for trans-rights cases nationwide.

And with the court down to just eight justices, four liberal and four conservative, the results are anything but a foregone conclusion.

Last fall, the Supreme Court issued an emergency stay on the appeals court order, blocking its enforcement and leaving Gavin Grimm in limbo until the SCOTUS makes a further ruling.