On October 25, 2016, BALIF filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Carcaño v. McCrory, a case challenging H.B. 2, North Carolina's discriminatory law that targets transgender people for discrimination in public schools and facilities.

 

The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the portion of H.B. 2 that bars transgender people from using single-sex restrooms consistent with their gender identity. Although the district court granted a limited injunction barring enforcement of H.B. 2 by the University of North Carolina against three of the plaintiffs who are transgender,  the court declined to bar broader enforcement of H.B. 2 under the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, leaving transgender people who live in or visit North Carolina vulnerable to the harms imposed by H.B. 2. The plaintiffs appealed the denial of broader injunctive relief under the Equal Protection Clause to the Fourth Circuit.

 

BALIF's brief  argues that H.B. 2 facially discriminates against transgender people based on sex, and that it is a classic example of unlawful sex stereotyping. Its restroom provisions are rooted in the stereotype that all people should act in a manner consistent with society's expectations about the sex they were assigned at birth. The brief highlights the significant body of law confirming that targeting transgender people for their perceived gender non-conformity is sex stereotyping that violates constitutional and statutory prohibitions on sex discrimination.

 

" In a variety of contexts and for many years, the federal courts have recognized that sex stereotyping of transgender people is a form of unlawful sex discrimination," said Julie Wilensky, chair of BALIF's Amicus Committee. "H.B. 2 is no different."

 

The Impact Fund  and its attorneys Lindsay Nako and Lynnette Miner served as BALIF's amicus counsel, and Impact Fund also joined the brief. 

 

In addition to BALIF and Impact Fund, a broad coalition of 35 additional bar associations and non-profit legal organizations joined the brief:  AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Alameda Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Atlanta Women for Equality, Bar Association of San Francisco, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, BiLaw, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., Centro Legal de la Raza, Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, Dallas LGBT Bar Association, East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, Hawai'i LGBT Legal Association, Kansas City Lesbian, Gay, and Allied Lawyers, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center, LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York, LGBT Bar Association of Wisconsin, Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, National Employment Law Project, National Employment Lawyers Association, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, New Mexico Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association, North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Queen's Bench Bar Association, SacLEGAL, Santa Clara County Bar Association, Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston, Tom Homann LGBT Law Association, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California, and Virginia Equality Bar Association.

SABA-NC South Bay Lunch
Friday, November 18, 2016, 12:00 - 1:30 PM
UlavacharU (685 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94087)

 

 

SABA-NC 24th Annual Gala

Friday, February 24, 2017, 6:00 - 11:00 p.m.

San Francisco Design Center (101 Henry Adams Street San Francisco, CA, 94103)

 

Save the date for SABA-NC's 24th Annual Gala! Additional details forthcoming. Please contact [email protected] for sponsorship opportunities.

California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) is seeking a law school fellow for a 10-week summer position with CRLA's LGBT Program.  The LGBT Program addresses the intersections of race, immigration status, and poverty within the framework of advancing rural LGBT rights. The program engages in direct legal representation and other innovative forms of legal advocacy that leverage collaborations with a range of rural stakeholders.  The LGBT Program Summer Law fellow will work under the supervision of the LGBT Program Director to provide direct legal services and support litigation and other systemic advocacy.  Priority types of legal cases include petitions for U, T, and VAWA non-immigrant status, employment discrimination cases, education rights cases, and legal name and gender petitions.  The law clerk may request to be placed in any one of CRLA's office locations, and the LGBT program will strive to accommodate the law clerk's preferred location.  

 

The fellow will receive a grant in the amount of $8,800 from the California Bar Foundation.

 

Applicants must have completed their second year of law school and must have strong writing skills. Candidates must possess a passion for social justice and poverty related

issues, as well as sensitivity to working with people from diverse backgrounds. Special consideration will be given to students who have a demonstrated commitment to serving low income or disadvantaged communities. Students who speak Spanish and are familiar with LGBTQ issues are encouraged to apply.

 

Applications will be accepted through  February 28, 2017. Please submit a cover letter and resume, a list of at least three references and writing sample to:  [email protected] and  [email protected]. Please write "LGBT Summer Fellow" in the subject line. CRLA will contact applicants selected for an interview.