No. 23-392

Metropolitan School District of Martinsville v. A. C., a Minor Child by His Next Friend, Mother and Legal Guardian, M. C.

Lower Court: Seventh Circuit
Docketed: 2023-10-13
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (6)Relisted (2) Experienced Counsel
Tags: bathroom-access bathroom-policy biological-sex circuit-split civil-rights equal-protection equal-protection-clause school-district sex-segregation student-rights title-ix
Key Terms:
DueProcess Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2024-01-12 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause prohibit schools from maintaining separate bathrooms on the basis of students' biological sex

Question Presented (from Petition)

QUESTION PRESENTED This case presents a question that is the subject of “[lJitigation ... occurring all over the country” and an open and acknowledged “circuit split,” App.2, 17— namely, whether Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause prohibits schools from maintaining separate bathrooms on the basis of students’ biological sex. Like many school districts throughout the country, Indiana’s Metropolitan School District of Martinsville separates multi-user bathrooms at its middle school based on students’ biological sex. As is also common, the District has a single-user bathroom available to students who prefer not to use the bathrooms provided for their biological sex. A.C. is a middle-school student who was born with female anatomy but identifies as a boy. When Martinsville rejected A.C.’s request to use the boys’ restrooms, A.C. brought this lawsuit, arguing that the District’s policy violates Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. The district court granted an injunction pursuant to existing Seventh Circuit precedent, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed. In declining Martinsville’s invitation to reconsider circuit precedent, both the majority and the concurrence emphasized that “[a] conflict among the circuits will exist no matter what happens in the current suits,” and that it falls to this Court to “produce a nationally uniform approach. App.27, 17. The question presented is: Whether Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause dictate a single national policy that prohibits local schools from maintaining separate bathrooms based on students’ biological sex.

Docket Entries

2024-01-16
Petition DENIED.
2024-01-08
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2024.
2024-01-04
Rescheduled.
2023-12-29
Reply of petitioner Metropolitan School District of Martinsville filed. (Distributed)
2023-12-20
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
2023-12-19
Brief of respondent A.C., a Minor Child by His Next Friend, Mother and Legal Guardian, M.C. in opposition filed. (Distributed)
2023-12-19
Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioner.
2023-11-17
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 20, 2023.
2023-11-15
Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 13, 2023 to December 20, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
2023-11-13
2023-11-13
2023-11-13
Brief amicus curiae of Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies filed.
2023-11-13
2023-11-13
2023-11-10
2023-10-25
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 13, 2023.
2023-10-23
Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 13, 2023 to December 13, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
2023-10-11
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 13, 2023)

Attorneys

A.C., a Minor Child by His Next Friend, Mother and Legal Guardian, M.C.
Kenneth J. FalkACLU of Indiana, Respondent
Kenneth J. FalkACLU of Indiana, Respondent
Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies
Donald A. Daugherty Jr.Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies, Amicus
Donald A. Daugherty Jr.Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies, Amicus
Independent Women's Forum, et al.
Gene Clayton SchaerrSchaerr | Jaffe, Amicus
Gene Clayton SchaerrSchaerr | Jaffe, Amicus
Metropolitan School District of Martinsville
Paul D. ClementClement & Murphy, PLLC, Petitioner
Paul D. ClementClement & Murphy, PLLC, Petitioner
Parents Defending Education
John Michael ConnollyConsovoy McCarthy PLLC, Amicus
John Michael ConnollyConsovoy McCarthy PLLC, Amicus
States of Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia
James Allen BartaOffice of the Indiana Attorney General, Amicus
James Allen BartaOffice of the Indiana Attorney General, Amicus
The American Civil Rights Project
Daniel Isaac MorenoffThe American Civil Rights Project, Amicus
Daniel Isaac MorenoffThe American Civil Rights Project, Amicus
Thomas More Society
Joan Maret MannixThomas More Society , Amicus
Joan Maret MannixThomas More Society , Amicus