Today,the U.S. Supreme Court Clerk has asked the parties to file by March 1 for letters explaining their views on how the Gloucester County v. GG case should proceed in view of the Trump Administration change of policy.
We filed two briefs in the Gloucester v. GG case:
1. Amicus Brief In the Fourth Circuit — May 10, 2016
2. Amicus Brief In the Supreme Court on the Merits — on January 10, 2017
This new Trump Administration Guidance letter,, issued February 22, 2017, was signed by the ACTING Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights and the ACTING Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
This new letter repealed both prior Obama documents on this topic:
1. Letter to Emily Prince dated January 7, 2015 — Gloucester County, Virginia
2. Dear Colleague letter dated May 13, 2016 — nationwide application
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Obama policy on August 21, 2016.
That injunction is on appeal to the Fifth Circuit, and there is now a question about whether the administration will press its appeal. (The administration withdrew its motion for a stay pending appeal earlier this month.)
We will learn soon whether the Gloucester County case has been mooted by the new guidance from the Trump Administration.