Fowler et al. v. Stitt et al.
Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit seeking to allow transgender people to correct the gender marker on their Oklahoma birth certificates.
Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma on behalf of three transgender people born in Oklahoma – Rowan Fowler, Allister Hall, and one plaintiff identified by his initials, C.R. The lawsuit was filed after Governor Stitt issued an Executive Order in late 2021, which state officials have invoked in denying transgender people’s applications to correct their birth certificates. The current practice is a reversal of prior policy, which had permitted such corrections for years. The lawsuit argues that the government’s actions violate equal protection, privacy, and liberty under the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. It also argues that forcing transgender people through their birth certificates to identify with a sex that conflicts with who they are violates their free speech rights under the First Amendment.
Lambda Legal has previously filed several other lawsuits successfully challenging the categorical denial of accurate birth certificates to transgender people, including in Kansas, Ohio, Idaho, and Puerto Rico, which resulted in transgender people being allowed to correct their birth certificates.
- March 14, 2022: Lambda Legal files lawsuit, joined by Tulsa attorney Karen Keith Wilkins.
- June 8, 2023: The district court grants defendants’ motion to dismiss.
- July 7, 2023: Lambda Legal appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
- September 29, 2023: Lambda Legal files its opening brief urging appeals court to reverse lower court’s ruling upholding the discriminatory transgender birth certificate policy.
- December 20, 2023: Lambda Legal files its reply brief.
- March 20, 2024: The Tenth Circuit hears oral argument in Denver.
- June 18, 2024: The Tenth Circuit overturns the lower court’s dismissal on equal protection grounds.
- September 9, 2024: The Tenth Circuit denies Oklahoma’s request for rehearing by the full court.
- January 23, 2025: Oklahoma asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.
- April 11, 2025: Lambda Legal files a brief urging the Supreme Court to deny review.
- June 30, 2025: The Supreme Court issues a “GVR” order vacating the Tenth Circuit’s decision and sending the case back for further consideration in light of United States v. Skrmetti. The Court does not rule on whether Oklahoma’s policy is constitutional.
- September 2, 2025: Lambda Legal files its first supplemental brief at the Tenth Circuit explaining why the policy remains unconstitutional after Skrmetti.
- September 29, 2025: The U.S. Department of Justice files a brief supporting Oklahoma.
- October 2, 2025: Lambda Legal files its first supplemental reply brief.
- February 23, 2026: Lambda Legal files its second supplemental brief.
- March 26, 2026: Lambda Legal files its second supplemental reply brief.
- April 16, 2026: The Tenth Circuit asks the Oklahoma Supreme Court to answer various questions about state law relating to Oklahoma birth certificates.
- May 7, 2026: The State of Oklahoma enacts House Bill 1225, expressly banning transgender people from amending their birth certificates.
- September 29, 2026: The Oklahoma Supreme Court rules that Oklahoma law does not permit changing the sex designation on a birth certificate. The case returns to the Tenth Circuit.
- October 20, 2026: Lambda Legal files its third supplemental brief.
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Supplemental Brief Pursuant to October 6, 2026 Order (10/20/2026)
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Reply Brief in Response to February 3, 2026 Order (03/26/2026)
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Supplemental Brief in Response to February 3, 2026 Order (02/23/2026)
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Supplemental Reply Brief (10/2/2025)
Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Supplemental Brief (09/2/2025)
Brief in Opposition (04/11/2025)