Law & Courts

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court hears argument Tuesday, Nov. 3, in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy (No. 25-581). The petitioners are the Archdiocese of Denver, two parishes with preschools and two parents. They say Colorado's universal preschool program violates the First Amendment by excluding them. The program requires participating schools to accept LGBTQ children and children of LGBTQ parents, and Colorado would not grant an exemption. The Tenth Circuit ruled for the state, finding the condition neutral and generally applicable. The justices agreed in April to review two questions. The first is how far Carson v. Makin (2022) goes when a state conditions public funds on nondiscrimination terms. The second is what a challenger must show to prove a law is not generally applicable under Smith. The preschools point to Colorado's preferences for low-income and disabled children as secular exceptions. Colorado says the program's rules are equal-access rules that apply to every provider. A decision is expected by the end of the term next summer.

WASHINGTON — On Oct. 21 the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency application from the Trump administration in Kingdom v. Trump. The unsigned order leaves in place a June 17, 2026 preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington. The injunction bars the Bureau of Prisons from enforcing a policy that would end hormone therapy and social accommodations for transgender inmates. The D.C. Circuit had already refused to pause it. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have granted the stay. The order gave no reasons. Solicitor General D. John Sauer had argued that the district court substituted its own policy judgment for the agency's. The ACLU, which represents a certified class, says roughly 1,000 people with a gender dysphoria diagnosis are covered. The case now returns to the D.C. Circuit for the government's appeal on the merits.

NASHVILLE — A three-judge panel in Nashville dismissed a state constitutional challenge to Tennessee's Education Freedom Scholarship program on Oct. 21, so the program stays in place. Parents and taxpayers sued Gov. Bill Lee and the state. They argued that the Education Clause requires a single public school system and bars public money for private education. By a 2-1 vote, the panel held that the clause requires the state to support public schools but does not make that funding exclusive. The majority also said a challenge to public-school funding must target the statutes that fund those schools, not the scholarship program. One judge agreed on the private-funding claim but would have let the public-school funding claim go forward. The order does not say whether the plaintiffs will appeal, which would take the case to the Tennessee appellate courts. House Speaker Cameron Sexton has since praised the ruling. He says more than 35,000 students are now on the scholarships.