U.S. Supreme Court Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Federal Court Rejects State Transgender Student Athlete Ban

The ACLU and Lambda Legal, a national LGBTQ rights law firm, brought the case on behalf of a 13-year-old middle school student in Harrison County who wanted to run on her track team.

A federal appeals court struck down West Virginia’s ban on transgender student participation in school sports Tuesday.

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the 2021 law violated Title IX, the landmark 1972 law that enshrined gender equality in school sports.

The ACLU and Lambda Legal, a national LGBTQ rights law firm, brought the case on behalf of a 13-year-old middle school student in Harrison County who wanted to run on her track team.

“The ruling makes clear that the law is discriminatory,” said Billy Wolfe, an ACLU-WV spokesman, in an email. The student, Becky Pepper-Jackson, is the only one affected by the ruling, Wolfe said, but encouraged others who might be affected to contact the ACLU.

The 2-1 decision, for now, invalidates House Bill 3293, which the legislature enacted and Gov. Jim Justice signed.

Last year, a U.S. district judge upheld the enforcement of the law, but the Fourth Circuit overruled that decision.

In an emergency appeal last year, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the state to enforce the law while the Fourth Circuit considered the case. The justices declined.

In a statement Tuesday, Morrisey said he would continue to defend the law.

West Virginia is one of 21 states that have enacted some type of restriction on transgender student participation in school sports.

In 2020, the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of a Virginia transgender boy who challenged his school’s refusal to let him use the bathroom that matched his gender identity.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal in that case as well.

In Tuesday’s ruling, one of the three judges, G. Steven Agee, dissented. He was nominated by President George W. Bush to the court in 2008.

The Supreme Court Rejects An Appeal From Former Coal Company CEO Don Blankenship

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from former coal company executive Don Blankenship, who argued that major news outlets defamed him by calling him a “felon.”

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Tuesday from former coal executive Don Blankenship, who argued that major news outlets defamed him by calling him a “felon.”

The justices left in place an appellate ruling against Blankenship, the former CEO of Massey Energy. He served a year in prison on a misdemeanor charge after he was found guilty of conspiring to violate safety standards at a West Virginia mine before an explosion in 2010 that killed 29 men.

Justice Clarence Thomas, while agreeing with the court’s action Tuesday, repeated his call for the court to overturn its landmark 1964 libel ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s determination that CNN, Fox News and 14 other outlets sued by Blankenship did not act with “actual malice” amid coverage of his unsuccessful 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, even if they failed to meet journalistic standards.

The high court had previously turned away Blankenship’s appeal of his conviction.

‘It’s Over.’ Supreme Court Has Had Final Word On Pipeline, Capito Says

The pipeline’s builders filed an emergency application with Chief Justice John Roberts earlier this month following two rulings from the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that brought the project to a standstill.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday overruled an appeals court decision that temporarily halted construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Thursday’s ruling didn’t explain why Roberts overruled the Fourth Circuit, but the pipeline’s supporters noted that Congress had called for the project’s completion and required that any further legal challenges take place in the D.C. Circuit rather than the Fourth Circuit.

“It’s over,” said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia. “And so it’s time to admit that fact and move on at the Fourth Circuit. Congress has spoken.”

Environmental groups and landowners have challenged the federal permits for the 300-mile natural gas pipeline, and the Fourth Circuit has put the project on hold multiple times.

West Virginia’s lawmakers in Congress included language in last month’s Fiscal Responsibility Act that expedited completion of the $6.6 billion pipeline.

Justice: Congress Was ‘Clear And Emphatic’ About Mountain Valley Pipeline

Construction stopped on the project when the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with environmental groups and landowners challenging it.

Gov. Jim Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow construction to resume on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

“Clear and emphatic.” That’s what Justice says Congress said about the 300-mile natural gas pipeline when it required by law last month the approval of all remaining federal permits.

Still, construction stopped on the project when the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with environmental groups and landowners challenging it.

Justice and others say Congress took the project out of the Fourth Circuit’s jurisdiction.

If completed, the pipeline would run from Wetzel County to Pittsylvania County, Virginia. A proposed extension to North Carolina is also on hold.

U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, Reps. Carol Miller and Alex Mooney, and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey have all submitted briefs to the Supreme Court in support of the pipeline’s completion.

Morrisey Backs Mountain Valley Pipeline In Supreme Court Brief

Morrisey argues that Congress authorized all outstanding federal permits for the pipeline in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which lawmakers enacted last month.

West Virginia’s Attorney General has joined the chorus of state officials supporting the Mountain Valley Pipeline in its latest court challenge.

The office of Patrick Morrisey submitted a 31-page brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the resumption of construction on the natural gas pipeline “without more delay.”

The 300-mile pipeline’s builders asked the Supreme Court to intervene after the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals once again blocked construction on the project.

Morrisey argues that Congress authorized all outstanding federal permits for the pipeline in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which lawmakers enacted last month.

He also said Congress required any further judicial review of the project to take place in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rather than the Fourth Circuit.

U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin and Reps. Carol Miller and Alex Mooney submitted briefs in support of the pipeline. Gov. Jim Justice last week said he would do so.

West Virginia’s Delegation Backs MVP In SCOTUS Briefs

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline is on hold again because the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked construction, siding with environmental groups and landowners.

West Virginia’s entire congressional delegation has filed briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Republican Reps. Carol Miller and Alex Mooney joined a brief with other lawmakers in support of the project. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, submitted a separate brief.

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline is on hold again because the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked construction, siding with environmental groups and landowners.

They say the project threatens waterways and could cause soil erosion and methane leaks.

The pipeline’s builders have asked the Supreme Court to overrule the Fourth Circuit and requested a decision by July 27.

In a bill Congress passed last month, lawmakers required the approval of all outstanding federal permits for the project.