Litigation
Court cases in the project's archive about laws and policies that affect transgender and other LGBTQ+ people. Each case page links its dockets, its court documents, its opinions and any oral arguments, with the originals on CourtListener. Charts show the cases by issue, year, court and place.
Also: a finding aid to experts who testified for the side defending the laws.
45 of 664 cases match.
| Case | Court | Level | Cir. | Year | Issue / type | Outcome | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan Josephson v. Toni Ganzel | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2019 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Gender-affirming care, Employment | Adverse | 6 |
| American College of Pediatricians v. BecerraNo. 1:21-cv-00195 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2021 | Health coverage & benefitsalso Gender-affirming care, Speech & religious objections, Federal executive actions | 44 | |
| Board of Education v. United States Department of Education | S.D. Ohio | District | 6th Cir. | 2016 | Schools & educationalso Bathrooms & facilities, Federal executive actions | Favorable | 4 |
| Bongo Productions, LLC v. Lawrence | M.D. Tenn. | District | 6th Cir. | 2022 | Public accommodationsalso Bathrooms & facilities, Speech & religious objections | Favorable | 63 |
| Catholic Charities of Jackson v. Gretchen Whitmer | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2025 | Conversion therapyalso Speech & religious objections | Adverse | 14 |
| Chelsey Nelson Photography LLC v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro GovernmentNo. 22-5884 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2022 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Public accommodations | 8 | |
| Chelsey Nelson Photography LLC v. LouisvilleJefferson County Metro Government (k | W.D. Mich. | District | 6th Cir. | Speech & religious objectionsalso Public accommodations | 2 | ||
| Christian Healthcare Centers, Inc. v. NesselNo. 1:22-cv-00787 | W.D. Mich. | District | 6th Cir. | 2022 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Gender-affirming care, Public accommodations | 52 | |
| Covenant Weddings LLC v. Cuyahoga County, Ohio | N.D. Ohio | District | 6th Cir. | 2020 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Public accommodations | 2 | |
| David Ermold v. Kim DavisNo. 24-5524 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2024 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Family & parental rights | 15 | |
| Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School DistNo. 23-3630 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Schools & educationalso Speech & religious objections | 15 | |
| DeGroat v. Townsend | S.D. Ohio | District | 6th Cir. | 2025 | Military | Adverse | 39 |
| Dodds v. United States Department of Education | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2016 | Schools & educationalso Bathrooms & facilities | Favorable | 1 |
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Employmentalso Speech & religious objections | Favorable | 63 |
| Friends of George's, Inc. v. Steven MulroyNo. 23-5611 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Drag & expressionalso Speech & religious objections | 54 | |
| George McIntyre v. Little Miami School DistrictNo. 1:26-cv-00351 | S.D. Ohio | District | 6th Cir. | 2026 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Schools & education | 105 | |
| James v. Rutherford County Library SystemNo. 3:26-cv-01355 | M.D. Tenn. | District | 6th Cir. | 2026 | 8 | ||
| Jamie Gray v. Lisa FarmerNo. 26-5262 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2026 | Prisons & detention | 1 | |
| Jane Doe 1 v. William Thornbury, Jr. | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Gender-affirming care | Adverse | 29 |
| Johnson v. City of ClevelandNo. 1:26-cv-02525 | N.D. Ohio | District | 6th Cir. | 2026 | 1 | ||
| Johnson v. Fresh Mark, Inc. | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2004 | Employmentalso Bathrooms & facilities | Adverse | 3 |
| Kayla Gore v. William LeeNo. 23-5669 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Identity documents | Adverse | 76 |
| L. W. v. Jonathan SkrmettiNo. 23-5600 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Gender-affirming care | Adverse | 90 |
| L.E. v. Lee | M.D. Tenn. | District | 6th Cir. | 2024 | Athleticsalso Schools & education | Mixed | 129 |
| Love v. Johnson | E.D. Mich. | District | 6th Cir. | 2015 | Identity documentsalso Privacy & medical records | Favorable | 1 |
| Maddilyn Marcum v. Cookie CrewsNo. 25-5840 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2025 | Gender-affirming carealso Prisons & detention | 2 | |
| Miranda Stovall v. Jefferson Co, KY Bd of Ed | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2025 | Schools & education | 1 | |
| Nicholas Meriwether v. Francesca Hartop | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2020 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Schools & education, Employment | Adverse | 17 |
| Parents Defending Educ. v. Olentangy Local Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2024 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Schools & education | Favorable | 88 |
| Parker v. Strawser Constr., Inc. | S.D. Ohio | District | 6th Cir. | 2018 | Employment | Mostly favorable | 1 |
| Philecia Barnes v. City of Cincinnati | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2005 | Employment | Favorable | 7 |
| Phillips v. Michigan Department of Corrections | W.D. Mich. | District | 6th Cir. | 1990 | Gender-affirming carealso Prisons & detention | Favorable | 1 |
| Ray v. Director, Ohio Department of Health | S.D. Ohio | District | 6th Cir. | 2021 | Identity documents | Mostly favorable | 94 |
| Reed v. South Bend Nights, Inc. | E.D. Mich. | District | 6th Cir. | 2015 | Employment | Procedural no direction | 2 |
| Rhea v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. | W.D. Tenn. | District | 6th Cir. | 2005 | Employment | Mostly favorable | 4 |
| Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish v. Dana Nessel | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Employment, Public accommodations | 1 | |
| Sean M. Brookings v. R.R. Denny Clunk, Judge, Stark County, Ohio | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2004 | Policing & criminal lawalso Identity documents, Family & parental rights | Adverse | 1 |
| Smith v. City of Salem, Ohio | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2004 | Employment | Favorable | 3 |
| St. Joseph Parish St. Johns v. Dana Nessel | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2024 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Schools & education, Employment, Public accommodations | Mixed | 10 |
| State of Tenn. v. Linda McMahonNo. 24-5588 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2024 | Schools & educationalso Bathrooms & facilities, Federal executive actions | 128 | |
| State of Tennessee v. Department of EducationNo. 22-5807 | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2022 | Schools & educationalso Bathrooms & facilities, Athletics, Federal executive actions | 57 | |
| State of Tennessee v. U.S. Department of Agriculture | E.D. Tenn. | District | 6th Cir. | 2023 | Federal executive actionsalso Schools & education, Public accommodations | Favorable | 14 |
| Traci Greene v. Gayle Bowles, Anthony J. Brigano | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2004 | Prisons & detention | Favorable | 2 |
| Valerie Kloosterman v. Metropolitan Hospital | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2025 | Speech & religious objectionsalso Gender-affirming care, Employment | Adverse | 12 |
| Weaver v. Tennessee Army National Guard | 6th Cir. | Circuit | 6th Cir. | 2002 | Employmentalso Military | Adverse | 1 |
45 cases
Each case has one main issue and may raise others (shown as “also”); the Issue filter finds a case by either. Choose a column heading to sort by it, and again to reverse the order. A blank cell means the archive has no entry for that case yet.
The outcome is this project's own coding of how a case turned out, made from the court's record; it is not the court's finding. How it is coded, and how to ask for a correction, is on the About page.
Litigation
Court cases about transgender and other LGBTQ+ people · federal & state courts
Cases tracked
| Case | Court | Level | Cir. | Year | Issue / type | Outcome | Docs |
|---|
Archive stats
Cases by issue
Every tracked case once, under its main issue, split by the coded direction of its final ruling (the same reading as "Reached a final ruling" below): favorable or adverse to the LGBTQ-rights claim, or mixed. The empty part of each bar is cases with no coded ruling at the trial, circuit or Supreme Court stage yet, which is most of them; it is not a claim that they have no outcome. Choose a bar to list its cases.
Reached a final ruling
The coded direction at the HIGHEST stage a case reached — trial-level, circuit-court or Supreme Court only. A preliminary-injunction ruling never counts as final, and a "procedural, no direction" or "unclear" coding is excluded rather than shown as an outcome.
Case duration
Filed to terminated, from real CourtListener docket dates, among cases where EVERY tracked docket has terminated (an open appellate docket alongside a closed district one is pending, not resolved). No stage-by-stage date exists in this corpus, so only this one span is shown; dates cover only the tracked-docket tier — see the coverage note below the numbers.
Cases by circuit
A real geographic map, states shaded by their circuit's case count relative to the busiest circuit (linear). The Federal Circuit has no state territory of its own (its jurisdiction is subject matter, not geography) and so never paints here, but still appears in the list and the table. Select a circuit below for its final-ruling mix.