Trial over Alabama transgender care ban for minors delayed until 2024
The trial over an Alabama law prohibiting doctors from providing puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender minors has been delayed until 2024. U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke last month postponed the trial date from August to April 2, 2024, giving more time for the parties to produce requested records. The Alabama law remains on hold under a temporary injunction issued last year by Burke. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has not ruled on Alabama’s request to lift the injunction and let the law go into effect. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act into law in 2022, making it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for doctors to treat transgender people under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones to help affirm their gender identity. Ivey called the treatments “radical” and “unproven.” Families with transgender children ranging in age from 12 to 17 were among those that challenged the Alabama law as an unconstitutional violation of equal protection and free speech rights, as well as an intrusion into family medical decisions. The U.S. Department of Justice joined their lawsuit, seeking to overturn the law. At least 20 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors. Arkansas was the first, and its ban was the first to be permanently struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge. Other laws have been temporarily blocked by federal judges in Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky. A federal appeals court has allowed Tennessee’s ban, which had been blocked by a federal judge, to take effect. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Donald Trump announces renomination of five Alabama judicial nominees
President Donald Trump on Friday announced his intent to renominate five Alabamians who were nominated to be Federal judges last year, along with 16 other nominees from across the country. According to the White House, Trump looks forward to the swift confirmation of these nominees, which include: Annemarie Carney Axon | if confirmed, will serve as a District Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Axon is a member of Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff, & Brandt, LLC, a Birmingham-based law firm where her practice is devoted entirely to litigation, with a concentration in fiduciary and probate litigation. In addition to fiduciary litigation, Annemarie’s experience includes litigation involving state and federal environmental laws, federal securities law, state immunity under 42 U.S.C. 1983, and general contract and tort law. After graduating law school, she clerked for Judge Inge P. Johnson for the same district court she’s been nominated to. She received her B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Alabama and her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law. Liles C. Burke | if confirmed, he will serve as District Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Judge Burke serves as an Associate Judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. Prior to his elevation to the Court of Appeals, Burke served as a Marshall County District Judge, as Acting Circuit Judge, and as a City of Arab Municipal Judge. Prior to ascending to the bench, Judge Burke practiced at the law firm of Burke & Beuoy, P.C., where he represented businesses and individuals in general practice, including domestic, criminal, civil litigation, juvenile, and probate matters. He has also served as a Municipal Prosecutor and Municipal Attorney, and currently serves in the Alabama Army National Guard Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. He received his B.A. from the University of Alabama and J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law. Jeffrey Uhlman Beaverstock | if confirmed, he will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama Beaverstock is a partner in the Mobile, Ala., office of Burr & Forman, LLP, where his practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation in State and Federal courts. Before entering the practice of law, Beaverstock served on active duty for four years as an Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army, and has served in the U.S. Army Reserve since leaving active duty. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army (Reserve) and is the Chief of Contract and Administrative Law for the 377th Theater Sustainment Command. Beaverstock earned his B.A. from The Citadel, where he was selected as the Distinguished Military Graduate and as the Most Outstanding Army Cadet. He earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he served as managing editor of the Alabama Law Review. Emily Coody Marks | if confirmed, she will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Emily Marks is a partner in the Montgomery, Ala. office of Ball, Ball, Matthews & Novak, P.A., where she has practiced since joining the firm as an associate in 1998. There, she specializes in labor and employment law, civil rights law, and appellate practice, and routinely lectures on these topics before employers and other members of the bar. Marks earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from Spring Hill College, and her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law, where she served as chair of the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board and as a senior editor of the University of Alabama Law & Psychology Review. Terry F. Moorer |if confirmed, he will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama Sworn in as Magistrate Judge in 2007, Moorer is expected to be the nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. A retired Col. in the Alabama National Guard, Moorer was the primary architect of the Alabama Code of Military Justice. He has a J.D. degree from The University of Alabama Law School, a B.A. degree from Huntingdon College, as well as A.A. degree from Marion Military Institute. Prior to his appointment as Magistrate Judge, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Alabama from 1990-2007. From 2001-2007, he served as the Lead Task Force Attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, where he was responsible for coordinating the investigation of and prosecution of major narcotics trafficking.
