Carcaño v. Cooper (formerly Carcaño v. McCrory)
Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina and Equality North Carolina filed a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s sweeping anti-LGBT law, HB 2. The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, Attorney General Roy Cooper, and the University of North Carolina, is on behalf of two transgender North Carolinians, Joaquín Carcaño, a UNC-Chapel Hill employee, and Payton McGarry, a UNC-Greensboro student; Angela Gilmore, a lesbian and North Carolina Central University law professor; and the ACLU of North Carolina and Equality North Carolina.
The plaintiffs allege that through HB 2, North Carolina sends a purposeful message that LGBT people are second-class citizens who are undeserving of the privacy, respect, and protections afforded others in the state. The complaint argues that HB 2 is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminates on the basis of sex and sexual orientation and is an invasion of privacy for transgender people. The law also violates Title IX by discriminating against students and school employees on the basis of sex.
- March 23, 2016 In one day, the North Carolina General Assembly passes HB2.
- March 28, 2016 Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Equality North Carolina file suit.
- May 9, 2016 Under the Obama Administration, DOJ files lawsuit against North Carolina and Governor McCrory for violating Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, Title IX, and the Violence Against Women Act.
- May 16, 2016 The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Lambda Legal ask a federal court to order an immediate halt to enforcement of HB2.
- August 26, 2016 Federal court blocks North Carolina from emforcing HB2 while lawsuit proceeds.
- December 7, 2016 Lambda Legal and ACLU echo call to repeal HB2 under new North Carolina Governor-Elect, Roy Cooper.
- March 28, 2017 North Carolina General Assembly leaders push proposal repealing HB2 in name only while still including provisions that would enshrine discriminatory measures into state law.
- July 21, 2017 Lambda Legal and ACLU expand lawsuit to include more plaintiffs and challenge HB142, the dicrimnatory replacement to HB@.
- October 18, 2017 ACLU and Lambda Legal announce proposed settlement with North Carolina. In a separate action, Governor Cooper also issued an executive order that provides nondiscrimination protections for LGBT state employees and affirms equal rights for transgender North Carolinians.
Plaintiffs' Brief (10/18/2017)
Reply Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants (03/7/2017)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Columbia Law School Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic (10/27/2016)
Brief of Amicus Curiae WPATH (10/27/2016)
Brief of Amici Curiae BALIF et al. (10/27/2016)
Brief of Amici Curiae NEA and NCAE (10/27/2016)
Brief of Amici Curiae Scholars Who Study the Transgender Population (10/27/2016)
Addendum to Brief of Amici Curiae School Administrators (10/27/2016)
Brief of Amici Curiae School Administrators (10/27/2016)
Brief of Amici Curiae Anti-Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Organizations (10/27/2016)