{"id":2612771,"date":"2026-06-10T06:03:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judges-clash-over-doj-inquiry-into-transgender-treatments-for-minors\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T06:09:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:09:37","slug":"judges-clash-over-doj-inquiry-into-transgender-treatments-for-minors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judges-clash-over-doj-inquiry-into-transgender-treatments-for-minors\/","title":{"rendered":"Judges clash over DOJ inquiry into transgender treatments for minors"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudges-clash-over-doj-inquiry-into-transgender-treatments-for-minors%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2612771&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A nationwide legal dispute is intensifying over the Justice Department\u2019s investigation into hospitals that administer transgender-related drugs and surgeries to children. Opponents argue that multiple federal judges are overstepping their jurisdictions as the courts increasingly intervene to limit or block DOJ efforts to obtain patient records.<\/p>\n<p>In **Maryland**, U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin heard arguments about whether to certify a broad nationwide class action aimed at preventing the government from obtaining medical records tied to minors\u2019 treatment. Rubin previously blocked a DOJ subpoena involving Children\u2019s National Hospital, and the plaintiffs now seek class-wide protections. During the hearing,Rubin questioned the lack of precedent for such an expansive class and whether patients treated far beyond Maryland have a sufficient connection to her courtroom. The DOJ argued that certifying before discovery would considerably hinder the investigation, including suggesting that records could be provided with identifying details removed.<\/p>\n<p>In **California**,Judge P. Casey Pitts temporarily blocked a **Texas** <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-prosecutor-probing-attempts-to-influence-2020-election\/\" title=\"Georgia Prosecutor Probing Attempts to Influence 2020 Election\">grand jury subpoena<\/a> seeking records from Stanford\u2019s Lucile Packard Children\u2019s Hospital. The order reversed his earlier refusal to stop the subpoena, after plaintiffs added the DOJ and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/attorney-lin-wood-defends-ag-bill-barr-after-announces-he-is-stepping-down-trump-voters-respond\/\" title=\"Attorney Lin Wood Defends AG Bill Barr After Announces He Is Stepping Down \u2014 ... Voters Respond\">acting attorney general<\/a> as defendants and sought broader relief.<\/p>\n<p>Related jurisdiction battles are also emerging: in **Rhode Island**, a court previously blocked a DOJ subpoena before an appeals court limited further action, emphasizing jurisdictional limits. The article points to a common pattern-healthcare providers and their attorneys filing lawsuits in more favorable states to obstruct subpoenas originating elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>a parallel conflict has arisen involving **Florida** and **Illinois**, where an Illinois judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Florida attorney general from pursuing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-need-abortion-pill-reversal-more-than-ever\/\" title=\"We Need Abortion Pill Reversal More Than Ever\">state-court enforcement action<\/a> against the American Academy of Pediatrics. The illinois court said the federal case met an exception to federal abstention rules and concluded the First amendment claims were likely to succeed.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A growing legal dispute over the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a>\u2019s investigation into hospitals that provide <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/transgender\/\">transgender<\/a>-related drugs and surgeries to children is escalating into a broader judicial turf war, with Democrat-appointed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/judges\/\">federal judges<\/a> in multiple states increasingly stepping into proceedings that legal scholars argue are out of their jurisdictions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest developments came Tuesday, when a federal judge in Maryland weighed a request for nationwide class-action protections against the DOJ\u2019s records requests, while a judge in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\">California<\/a> moved to halt enforcement of a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\">Texas<\/a> grand jury subpoena seeking patient records from a children\u2019s hospital.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4601882\/judge-alabama-execution-nitrogen-gas\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge permanently blocks Alabama from executing inmate with nitrogen gas<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4600463\/doj-lawsuit-stop-ufc-white-house-event\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DOJ slams last-minute lawsuit trying to stop UFC White House event<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4600891\/trump-another-pick-fifth-circuit-court-appeals\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump will get another pick on influential federal appeals court<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People holding small transgender flags in the air.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The disputes stem from a nationwide <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/department-justice-subpoenas-doctors-and-clinics-involved-performing-transgender-medical\">DOJ investigation that began last summer<\/a>, examining whether hospitals and clinics that performed transgender-related drug treatments or surgical procedures on minors violated federal laws involving fraud, misbranding of drugs, or improper billing practices. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has sought records from hospitals across the country, arguing the information is necessary to determine whether federal laws were broken.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<h2 id=\"h-maryland-judge-questions-nationwide-class-request\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Maryland: Judge questions nationwide class request<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/maryland\/\">Maryland<\/a>, U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin, an appointee of former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden<\/a>, heard arguments Tuesday over whether to certify a nationwide class of families seeking to prevent the government from obtaining medical records connected to minors who received transgender medical treatments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rubin previously blocked a DOJ subpoena directed at Children\u2019s National Hospital in Washington. Last month, 11 families expanded the litigation, asking the court to certify a nationwide class covering patients who received drugs or surgeries at more than 20 hospitals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During Tuesday\u2019s hearing, Rubin repeatedly questioned whether there was any precedent for certifying such a broad class and what connection patients treated at hospitals across the country had to her Maryland courtroom.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s no precedent here because there\u2019s no precedent for the government\u2019s actions in this context,\u201d Rachel Berg of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights told the court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DOJ attorney Scott Dahlquist argued certifying a class before discovery would impair the department\u2019s ability to continue its investigation. He suggested the government could potentially accept records with patient names removed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that\u2019s a condition that we could live with,\u201d Dahlquist said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rubin, however, noted that questions about redactions may be better addressed from the plaintiffs\u2019 perspective. Attorneys for the families argued removing names would not sufficiently protect patient identities because other information could still be used to identify them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI will rule as promptly as possible,\u201d Rubin said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-california-judge-blocks-texas-subpoena\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">California: Judge blocks Texas subpoena<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Maryland hearing came less than a day after U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts, a Biden appointee in California, issued a temporary restraining order preventing Stanford\u2019s Lucile Packard Children\u2019s Hospital from complying with a grand jury subpoena in Texas seeking records related to transgender drugs and surgeries for children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move marked a notable reversal. Just days earlier, Pitts <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cand.470905\/gov.uscourts.cand.470905.40.0.pdf\">denied<\/a> an emergency request to stop the subpoena.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After that denial, plaintiffs amended their lawsuit to add the DOJ and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants. Late Monday, Pitts issued a temporary restraining order blocking compliance with the subpoena statewide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a status conference Tuesday morning, Pitts met with attorneys for the plaintiffs, Stanford\u2019s hospital, and the government ahead of an original June 10 subpoena deadline before the Texas federal judge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The parties agreed to a revised briefing schedule with the government\u2019s response due June 17, the plaintiffs\u2019 reply due June 22, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >subpoena return date pushed back<\/a> to June 25.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pitts\u2019s Monday evening reversal from his initial denial of a temporary restraining order drew criticism from conservative legal observers who argued Pitts was interfering with proceedings originating in another federal district.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abhishek Kambli, a former Trump DOJ attorney now with Holtzman Vogel, said administrative stays are generally used by courts to preserve cases already before them, not to halt proceedings in a completely different district and state.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">First, NDCA granted an administrative stay of an NDTX order. This is unusual. Administrative stays normally occur for cases already before the court. For example, a district court can stay its own injunction (and an immediate appellate court can do the same). Not another court\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Abhi Kambli (@AbhiKambli1984) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AbhiKambli1984\/status\/2064315708998316211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAdministrative stays normally occur for cases already before the court,\u201d Kambli posted on X. \u201cNot another court\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kambli also questioned Pitts\u2019s reliance on the All Writs Act, arguing the statute cannot independently create jurisdiction where none otherwise exists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo grant such unusual relief in this manner is troubling,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The California case follows earlier clashes involving <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rhode-island\/\">Rhode Island<\/a> Hospital, where U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, an appointee of Trump, blocked a DOJ subpoena for that facility\u2019s records, only to have the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.ca1.54279\/gov.uscourts.ca1.54279.00108449119.0.pdf\">decline to take further enforcement action<\/a> over her order last month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe do not have jurisdiction over the Northern District of Texas,\u201d the 1st Circuit majority concluded. \u201cThe proper source of relief, therefore, is in that court or the Fifth Circuit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the center of the Rhode Island and now California litigations is U.S. District Judge Reed O\u2019Connor, an appointee of former President George W. Bush in Fort Worth, Texas, who has entertained the government\u2019s subpoena efforts while healthcare attorneys are seeking to disrupt the investigation by filing last-ditch lawsuits in more favorable jurisdictions in completely different states.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-florida-and-illinois-similar-fight-over-state-enforcement-powers\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Florida and Illinois: Similar fight over state enforcement powers<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A separate but related jurisdictional dispute underscores the root problem with these efforts to curtail the government\u2019s subpoenas. A similar issue emerged this week involving <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\">Florida<\/a> Attorney General James Uthmeier and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the latter of which asked an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illinois\/\">Illinois<\/a> federal court to intervene in an effort to avoid the Sunshine State\u2019s inquiry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton in Chicago, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.ilnd.496453\/gov.uscourts.ilnd.496453.39.0.pdf\">issued a preliminary injunction<\/a> barring Uthmeier from pursuing a Florida state court enforcement action against the American Academy of Pediatrics and ordered him to notify the Florida court of the injunction within 48 hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kennelly concluded the medical association was likely to succeed on claims that the Florida action violated its First Amendment rights. The judge also found his court had personal jurisdiction over Uthmeier, that venue was proper in Illinois, and that the case fit within an exception to the normal rule requiring federal courts to abstain from interfering with ongoing state proceedings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/transgender\/\">\u2018I HAVE NO BREASTS, ONLY SCARS\u2019: DETRANSITIONER CHLOE COLE DELIVERS TESTIMONY AT SENATE HEARING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ruling prompted criticism from Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan, who argued that a federal court in Illinois should not be able to halt a Florida enforcement action brought by Florida officials under Florida law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFederalism cannot withstand organizations getting out-of-state injunctions to stop enforcement of a state\u2019s laws in that state,\u201d Wessan <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ewess92\/status\/2064153765129711823?s=46&#038;t=f0VPgx4VmYe00h8SmOFx2A\">posted<\/a> on X, predicting that Florida may soon appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A DOJ probe into transgender care for children is sparking a widening judicial jurisdiction fight, with judges in multiple states questioned for overstepping<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2612772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/iStock-1280740815-e1775685732224.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[55074,50442,58919],"class_list":["post-2612771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-doj-inquiry","tag-judges-2","tag-transgender-healthcare"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/iStock-1280740815-e1775685732224.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2612771"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2612775,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612771\/revisions\/2612775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2612772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2612771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2612771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2612771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}