Federal Court Ruling Finding Transgender Sports Law Constitutional
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in June told a crowd gathered at the State Capitol that a lawsuit
brought against a state law defining “sex” in school sports would not succeed. On Thursday, those words came to fruition: a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West
Virginia ruled the state legislature’s definition of “girl” and “woman” in the context of HB 3293 (Save Women’s
Sports Bill) is “constitutionally permissible.” “This is not only about simple biology, but fairness for women’s sports, plain and simple,” Attorney General Morrisey
said. “Opportunities for girls and women on the field are precious and we must safeguard that future. Protecting these
opportunities is important, because when biological males compete in a women’s event women and girls lose their
opportunity to shine. Under HB 3293, all biological males, including those who identify as transgender girls, are ineligible for participation
on girls’ sports teams. The challenge to that law came from a transgender student at Bridgeport Middle School identified in court papers as
“BPJ.” Attorneys for BPJ argued that HB 3293 violates BPJ’s rights under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of
the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Attorney General Morrisey, on behalf of the state, intervened and asserted the law protects female athletes’ safety and
keeps female sports competitive for female athletes, consistent with Title IX and the Constitution. Title IX was signed
into law on June 23, 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that
receives funding from the federal government. “This short and simple law demands that girls and women get their fair share of opportunities in education, and Title
IX’s regulations make it clear that this could be accomplished in school athletic programs by having ‘separate teams
for members of each sex’ where the teams are based on competitive skill,” Attorney General Morrisey said. Read a copy of Thursday’s ruling at: https://bit.ly/3GEyNxp.
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Wednesday at the ongoing Depp Heard trail in Fairfax
An ABC News report on the Johnny Depp libel suit against ex-wife Amber Heard in Fairfax Virginia.
Depp’s longtime friend and next door neighbor testified Wednesday in the trail.
Isaac Baruch said he never noticed any evidence of abuse on Heard’s face.
Heard told him that Depp threw a phone at her hitting her.
Baruch said he saw no evidence of it either right after it happened nor later in better light.
Baruch is the second witness called in the trail over Depp’s allegations that an opinion piece Heard wrote in the Washington Post falsely portrays her ex as a domestic abuser.
Baruch a painter, has been a friend of Depp since 1980 even working for him when the actor owned part of the famed Viper Room Club.
Depp has also helped Baruch financially as well.
Under cross examination from Heard’s lawyer Baruch conceded he didn’t know if Heard was wearing make up to conceal any bruising.
At one point Baruch got emotional saying that Heard needed to take responsibility and move on.
Baruch added that he never saw violence from Depp.
Baruch did testified that he saw security video showing Heard’s sister Whitney throwing a fake punch at Heard’s face while the two waited for an elevator in the building they all shared.
After the fake punch the sisters laughed.
Heard’s lawyer argues that the sisters were practicing for a real punch to feign abuse from Depp.
Both Depp and Heard are expected to testify in what is expected to be a six week long trail in Fairfax.
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W.VA. Attorney General announces agreement with Endo
West Virginia’s Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced in a news release a settlement with Endo Health Solutions Inc.
The settlement of $26 million will be shared by all city and counties in West Virginia.
This is in regards to a lawsuit that was filed in 2019.
The lawsuit alleges that Endo Health Solutions failed to disclose the serious risk of opioid addiction.
The suit also alleges that Endo overstated the benefits of chronic opioid therapy and promoted higher dosage without disclosing the greater risk.
Along with the monetary settlement Endo has agreed to not make false claims or encourage the use of opioids.
Endo must also operate an effective monitoring program using downstream customer data to identify suspicious orders.
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