The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted Maine Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby’s request to restore her voting and speaking privileges in the state legislature after Democratic leaders in the chamber censured her over comments about a transgender athlete.
The court ruled 7-2 in favor of an injunction to prevent the state legislature from blocking Libby from legislative activities, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting. The majority did not elaborate on their reasoning in the order.
Libby sought emergency intervention from the Supreme Court last month after the Democrat-majority legislature stripped her of her ability to participate in legislative affairs until she apologized for a February social media post, in which she posted the name and photo of a biological male who won a high school state championship in a girls division. Prior to seeking relief from the Supreme Court, she lost at the federal district and appeals courts.
In her dissent, Jackson said the high court was “watering down” its standards for granting
emergency relief by granting Libby the injunction.
“At the very least, by lowering the bar for granting emergency relief, the court itself will bear responsibility for the resulting systemic disruption, as a surge in requests for our ‘extraordinary’ intervention — at earlier and earlier stages of ongoing lower court proceedings, and with greater and greater frequency — will undoubtedly follow,” Jackson said in her dissent.
Libby celebrated the high court’s order, saying it was a win for free speech and the Constitution.
“This is a victory not just for my constituents, but for the Constitution itself. The Supreme Court has affirmed what should NEVER have been in question — that no state legislature has the power to silence an elected official simply for speaking truthfully about issues that matter,” Libby said.
SUPREME COURT ALLOWS TRUMP TO END PROTECTIVE STATUS FOR VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS
Maine has been the epicenter of the debate over transgender athletes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning biological males from competing in female sports. Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) told the president she would see him in court over the order in February, while Libby has vocally opposed the governor’s stance in the state legislature.
Democratic leadership in the state legislature said the decision to censure Libby was because she shared images of children online without their consent, while the Republican lawmaker insisted her free speech rights were being infringed upon.
