Federal judge temporarily blocks enforcement of Idaho restroom law affecting transgender people
The Facts
- U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday blocking Idaho from enforcing key parts of House Bill 752 while the lawsuit continues.
- The Idaho law was scheduled to take effect on July 1.
- The case was brought by six transgender Idaho residents challenging the law.
- The law made it a crime to use certain public restrooms or changing facilities that do not align with a person's sex assigned at birth or biological sex.
- Judge Brailsford said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the law is unconstitutionally vague, citing the lack of objective standards for enforcement and the reliance on officers' subjective assessments.
- The ruling temporarily protects transgender people in Idaho from criminal enforcement tied to restroom use covered by the injunction, but it does not end the case.
- The law carried escalating criminal penalties, including up to five years in prison for repeat violations.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- A criminal law carrying penalties up to five years in prison cannot rest on vague standards and officers’ subjective judgments — the injunction’s core premise, and the rule-of-law concern both framings treat as decisive.
- They split on
- Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: the immediate protection for transgender Idaho residents from criminal restroom enforcement, versus the broader danger of writing any criminal statute without clear, objective standards.
Analytical frames for this storyTap to explore
Context
What did the judge decide?
Judge Amanda Brailsford granted a preliminary injunction that stops Idaho from enforcing key parts of HB 752 before it takes effect, while the federal lawsuit challenging the law moves forward Owensboro Messenger…,U.S. News & World R…,Hill.
Why did the judge block the law for now?
The judge said the challengers were likely to succeed on their argument that the law is unconstitutionally vague because it does not set clear, objective standards for enforcement and would leave major decisions to officers' subjective judgments Hill,East Idaho News,news.bloomberglaw.c….
What happens next?
The injunction is temporary, so the law's constitutionality will continue to be litigated in federal court; for now, the blocked provisions cannot be enforced as the case proceeds U.S. News & World R…,Washington Examiner,news.bloomberglaw.c….
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Independent coverage (34)
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