The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied state Rep. Laurel Libby’s motion for an expedited appeal in her ongoing lawsuit to end her censure by the Maine House of Representatives.
Her lawsuit has already suffered one key setback when U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose denied a request to immediately restore Libby’s ability to vote and participate in floor debates. Libby appealed that ruling to the 1st Circuit, but judges there ruled that she did not demonstrate a likelihood of success in her lawsuit, or the need for an expedited appeal.
The ruling means Libby’s appeal will go through the regular process.
Libby was censured in February for posting a photo of a high school transgender athlete while blurring the images of two other students to protect their identities. The censure can be lifted if she apologizes, but she has refused to do that.
Libby has argued that the order violates her First and Fourth Amendment rights, but Judge DuBose ruled that House Speaker Ryan Fecteau’s order is likely shielded by legislative immunity, which largely shields lawmakers from liability when conducting legislative business.
DuBose said the censure order was a “weighty sword to wield,” but also that Fecteau followed the House rules of conduct and procedure when the Democratic majority censured Libby.
Fecteau and Democrats who voted to censure Libby have maintained her social media post targeted a minor in a way that would subject them to threats and harassment.
Libby’s post ricocheted across social media and was amplified by conservative media personalities and commentators. It came just days before a Feb. 21 confrontation between Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump at the White House. During that exchange, Trump threatened to yank Maine’s federal funding if the state didn’t comply with his executive order banning transgender athletes from competing on girls’ sports teams.
Mills told Trump that she would continue to follow state and federal law. The state has been targeted by the Trump administration ever since and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently announced that the Trump administration will sue the state over alleged violations of Title IX, a 1972 law that prevents discrimination against women in education and athletics.
Mills has said that she welcomes the lawsuit and she’s confident the state will prevail. Last week, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that he was launching a preemptive lawsuit against the Trump administration over its interpretation of Title IX and its threats to yank Minnesota’s federal funding. Like Maine, Minnesota’s human rights law has explicit protections for gender identity that allows transgender athletes to participate on girls’ sports teams.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
