Skip to main content

Briefs and Opinions

Appellate Section - Equal Protection Clause

Briefs and Opinions

  • Poe v. Labrador (9th Cir.) - Amicus
    • HB 71 is subject to heightened scrutiny
    • HB 71 triggers heightened scrutiny because transgender persons constitute at least a quasi-suspect class
    • The district court did not err in concluding that HB 71 is unlikely to survive heightened scrutiny
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus 03/12/24
  • Dekker v. Secretary, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (11th Cir.) - Amicus
    • The district court correctly held that the challenged coverage exclusions violate the Medicaid statute
    • The district court correctly held that the challenged coverage exclusions violate Section 1557 of the ACA
    • If the Court reaches the equal-protection issue, it should remand for additional factfinding on whether SB254 was enacted with a discriminatory purpose
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus 12/04/23
  • Poe v. Drummond (10th Cir.) - Amicus
    • SB613 warrants heightened scrutiny
    • SB613 is unlikely to survive heightened scrutiny
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus 11/16/23
  • United States v. Skrmetti (S. Ct.) - Petitioner
    • SB1 warrants heightened scrutiny because it relies on sex-based classifications
    • SB1 warrants heightened scrutiny because it discriminates against transgender individuals
    • SB1 cannot survive heightened scrutiny
     
    Document Date 
    Reply Brief 02/20/24
    Petition for a Writ of Certiorari 11/06/23
  • K.C. v. Medical Licensing Board of Indiana (7th Cir.) - Amicus
    • Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their equal-protection claim
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus 09/27/23
  • Griffith v. El Paso County (10th Cir.) - Amicus
    • Intermediate scrutiny applies to the jail’s policies because they differentiate based on sex
    • Compensatory damages claims under Title II and Section 504 are not limited to violations of “settled law”
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus 08/28/23
  • L.W. & United States v. Skrmetti and Doe v. Thornbury (6th Cir.) - Intervenor-Appellee and Amicus
    • Neither district court abused its discretion by granting a preliminary injunction
    • Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their equal-protection claims
    • Transgender adolescents, including the minor plaintiffs, will suffer irreparable harm absent injunctive relief
    • The balance of harms and the public interest favor an injunction
    • This court should remand to the district court for further proceedings if it is not satisfied with the scope of the Skrmetti preliminary injunction
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 83 F.4th 460 09/28/23
    Brief as Intervenor-Appellee and Brief as Amicus 08/10/23
  • Charter Day School v. Peltier (S. Ct.) - Amicus
    • The court of appeals correctly held that CDS’s enforcement of its student dress code is state action
     
    Document Date 
    Certiorari Denied, reported at 143 S.Ct. 2657 06/26/23
    Brief as Amicus in Response to the Court's Invitation 05/22/23
  • B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education (4th Cir.) - Amicus
    • H.B. 3293 violates the Equal Protection Clause as applied to transgender girls like B.P.J.
    • H.B. 3293 violates Title IX
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Decision, available at 2024 WL 1627008 04/16/24
    Brief as Amicus 04/03/23
  • Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. v. School Committee of Boston (1st Cir.) - Amicus
    • Ensuring that students of all races enjoy equal educational opportunities is not a suspect purpose
    • If this court determines strict scrutiny applies, it should remand for the district court to evaluate whether the policy passes muster under that standard
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Decision, available at 2023 WL 8728290 12/19/23
    Brief as Amicus 09/09/22
  • Eknes-Tucker and United States v. Governor of the State of Alabama (11th Cir.) - Intervenor-Appellee
    • The district court did not abuse its discretion by granting a preliminary injunction
    • The scope of the district court’s injunction is not an abuse of discretion
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 80 F.4th 1205 08/21/23
    Brief as Intervenor-Appellee 08/10/22
  • Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina (S. Ct.) - Amicus
    • This Court should adhere to Grutter’s holding that the educational benefits of diversity are a compelling interest
    • The lower court correctly upheld UNC's admissions process under this Court’s precedents
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus (Merits) 08/01/22
  • Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board (4th Cir.) - Amicus
    • Ensuring that students of all races enjoy equal educational opportunities is not a suspect purpose
    • If strict scrutiny were to apply to the challenged race-neutral policy, the strict-scrutiny inquiry must be adapted for this novel context
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 68 F.4th 864 05/23/23
    Brief as Amicus 05/13/22
  • Brandt v. Griffin (fka Rutledge) (8th Cir.) - Amicus
    • Act 626 violates the Equal Protection Clause
    • Intermediate scrutiny applies to plaintiffs’ Equal Protection Claim
    • Applying intermediate scrutiny, the district court correctly found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their Equal Protection Claim
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus 12/14/23
    Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 47 F.4th 661 08/25/22
    Brief as Amicus 01/21/22
  • Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (S. Ct.) - Amicus
    • This Court should adhere to Grutter’s holding that the educational benefits of diversity are a compelling interest
    • The lower court correctly upheld Harvard’s admissions process under this Court’s precedents
    • The court of appeals’ application of this Court’s precedents does not warrant further review
    • This Court should not grant review to consider overruling its precedents in this area
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus (Merits) 08/01/22
    Brief as Amicus in Response to Court's Invitation 12/08/21
  • Adams v. School Board of St. John's County (11th Cir.) - Amicus
    • The School Board violated the Equal Protection clause when it prohibited Adams from using the boys’ restrooms
    • The School Board violated Title IX when it prohibited Adams from using the boys’ restrooms
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Decision En Banc, reported at 57 F.4th 791 12/30/22
    En Banc Brief as Amicus 11/26/21
  • Peltier v. Charter Day School, et al. (4th Cir.) - Amicus
    • CDS’s implementation and enforcement of its dress code constitutes State action under the Equal Protection Clause
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals En Banc Decision, reported at 37 F.4th 104 06/14/22
    En Banc Brief as Amicus 11/18/21
  • Corbitt v. Taylor (11th Cir.) - Amicus
    • Policy Order 63 violates the Equal Protection Clause
    • Policy Order 63 fails under intermediate scrutiny
     
    Document Date 
    Brief as Amicus 08/02/21
  • Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (1st Cir.) - Amicus
    • Harvard failed to prove that its use of race is narrowly tailored
    • Harvard failed to articulate a sufficiently concrete and measurable interest
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Errata Sheet 11/24/20
    Court of Appeals Decision, reported at 980 F.3d 157 11/12/20
    Brief as Amicus 02/25/20
  • Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges, et al. (S. Ct.) - Amicus
    • The state marriage bans, which forbid same-sex couples from marrying within the state, and prohibit the recognition of same-sex couples' out-of-state marriages, violate equal protection
    • Sexual orientation classifications warrant heightened scrutiny, particularly in the context of legal barriers to marriage, and that the bans fail heightened scrutiny because they are not substantially related to an important governmental objective
    • The bans fail review under United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013)
    • The practical and dignity harms found impermissible in Windsor are imposed with even greater force by the state bans
     
    Document Date 
    Supreme Court Decision, reported at 135 S. Ct. 2584 06/26/15
    Brief as Amicus 03/06/15
  • Williams v. Port Huron Area School District (6th Cir.) - Amicus
    • The standard for Title VI racial harassment claims is the deliberate indifference standard employed in Title IX cases
    • The evidence is sufficient for a reasonable factfinder to find that the school district was deliberately indifferent to the harassment from 2003-2006
     
    Document Date 
    Court of Appeals Decision, available at 455 F. App'x 612 01/09/12
    Brief as Amicus 03/09/11

Browse Briefs by Category

Access to Justice
Affirmative Action
Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Constitutionality of Federal Statutes
Criminal
Education
Employment Discrimination (Race, National Origin, Sex, and Religion)
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
Equal Protection Clause
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
Housing
Immigration
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Institutionalized Persons
Police Misconduct (Civil Cases)
Religion Cases
Servicemember Cases
Third Party Intervention in Civil Rights Cases
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting
Other

Updated April 16, 2024