Jeff Sessions on 2nd Circuit's LGBT Ruling: Judges Must Have 'Read the New York Times'
Sessions criticized the Second Circuit's decision Monday that employment discrimination against LGBT people is illegal.
February 27, 2018 at 10:45 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticized federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after they ruled Monday that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The Justice Department filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case last year, arguing that if Congress intended the law to cover sexual orientation, lawmakers would have explicitly included that language. Sessions, speaking to a group of state attorneys general in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, said the court's ruling goes against those of nine other circuit courts, and noted the Second Circuit originally ruled the opposite, but that the court, sitting en banc, reversed its own precedent.
“We believe we're on the right principle there,” Sessions said. “And I guess maybe the judges woke up that morning, read the New York Times or something, and decided their previous ruling was wrong.”
The Second Circuit is the latest appeals court to rule that Title VII bars LGBT discrimination in employment, following the Seventh Circuit last year. In the court's ruling Monday, the majority opinion mentioned the “changing legal landscape” around the issue.
Sessions also echoed his previous criticisms of district court judges who have issued nationwide injunctions against the Trump administration's policies, such as the travel ban executive orders and the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Sessions said courts have entered 20 nationwide injunctions against the administration this year, more than any other president. He said plaintiffs and lawyers have “judge-shopped around the country” to get “favorable outcomes.”
“Nationwide injunctions like the one in [the travel ban] case are a growing problem,” Sessions said.
The rally against nationwide injunctions is a familiar refrain for Sessions, who often mentions the issue in speeches. Recently, the Justice Department discussed nationwide injunctions in a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court in the travel ban case, calling the actions by courts “disturbing.” The high court is set to hear that case in April.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllWhy Greg Craig's Trial Was a 'Misguided and Unnecessary' Prosecution
5 minute readLabaton Sucharow Wants State Street Judge Recused After He Hinted at 'Public Corruption'
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250