Only Two Supreme Court Justices Wanted To Hear Virginia School’s Appeal In Case Letting Biological Males Use Women’s Restrooms

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeal brought about by the Gloucester County School Board in the case against it by former student Gavin Grimm, a biological female who identifies as male. Grimm filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging that school policies prevented trans-identified students as herself from using bathrooms and sex-specific changing areas that correspond to the gender identity they identify with, which is a violation of the Title IX civil rights law.

Grimm wanted to use the boys restrooms and locker rooms despite being born a female, the Christian Post reported. To address the situation, the Gloucester County School built three single-use, gender-neutral restrooms to accommodate Grimm.

In September 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. Doumar ruled against Grimm and provided the school with a victory. However, the decision was overturned less than a year later in April 2016 by a three-judge Fourth Circuit panel. The 2-1 decision ruled that the federal antidiscrimination law applied to the case, with the majority of judges deciding that "Title IX requires schools to provide transgender students access to restrooms congruent with their gender identity."

However, just months later in August 2016, the Supreme Court vote of 5-3 ruled to put a stay on the panel decision, pending the filing and decision on an appeal. The case was sent back to the district court in July 2017 after the case was remanded back to the Fourth Circuit. Finally, in August 2020, the three-judge Fourth Circuit panel ruled 2-1 in favor of Grimm, with the majority stating that they were aligned with a "a growing consensus of courts" who believed "equal protection and Title IX can protect transgender students from school bathroom policies that prohibit them from affirming their gender."

Former President Barack Obama appointed the two judges who ruled in Grimm's favor, while Judge Paul Niemeyer, a George H.W. Bush appointee, argued to dissent to the panel decision. He believed that the Virginia school already avoided discriminating against trans students by providing unisex restrooms that any student could use.

According to The Blaze, Judge Niemeyer also argued that the court had changed the definition of "sex" and that "for the first time ever, holds that a public high school may not provide separate restrooms and locker rooms on the basis of biological sex." The Judge believes that the decision had "[overruled] custom, culture, and the very demands inherent in human nature for privacy and safety, which the separation of such facilities is designed to protect."

The recent dismissal, however, was not unanimous. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito "would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari," according to the court order. In other words, they'd have given the appeal a chance to be heard.

Legal scholar Josh Hammer gave a warning on how the Supreme Court is now operating under the Biden administration, saying, "Unless fundamental changes are made that cut to the core of the modern conservative legal movement, conservatives will remain disappointed. The Court is not, and will not be, our savior."

Grimm has become somewhat of a voice for transgenders in Virginia with her victory in the case, with more than 10,000 followers on her Twitter account, which mostly features retweets from trans rights organizations.