A federal judge ruled Tuesday that transgender individuals in Idaho cannot face criminal prosecution for using public restrooms that align with their gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford issued the ruling, which temporarily suspends enforcement of key parts of a state law passed in March. That law was scheduled to go into effect July 1 and went further than similar legislation in other states by restricting which restrooms transgender people may use — not just in government buildings, but also in privately owned spaces where bathrooms are open to the general public.
Lambda Legal attorney Kell Olson welcomed the decision in a statement Tuesday, saying: “This ruling will allow transgender people throughout Idaho to find and use a public restroom without the fear of arrest looming over them, while we continue the longer fight to permanently defeat this discriminatory law in court.”
Idaho is among at least 19 states that have enacted laws limiting which bathrooms transgender individuals may use, typically in schools or other public facilities. However, Idaho’s version — signed by Republican Gov. Brad Little in March — was notably broader in scope.
The law covered restrooms in private buildings open to the public and established criminal penalties: up to one year in jail for a first offense and up to five years in prison for a second offense. There were limited exceptions allowing someone to use a restroom designated for the “opposite sex” if it was the only one “reasonably available” and the person was in “dire need.”
The Idaho Chiefs of Police Association had raised concerns about how officers would determine whether someone qualified as being in “dire need” under the law.
Six transgender Idaho residents, represented by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit arguing the law is unconstitutionally vague. Judge Brailsford, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, largely sided with those plaintiffs.
Her ruling did not strike down the entire law. Instead, she set specific limits on its enforcement, saying it could not be applied against someone using a single-stall restroom, or when no single-user restroom is available and unoccupied on the same floor as a multi-user facility.
ACLU attorney Barbara Schwabauer also released a statement, saying: “No one should be forced to choose between the threat of arrest for being themselves in public or the threat of harassment and violence for acting the way the state wants them to be. The preliminary injunction is a vital first step as we continue to challenge this gross violation of privacy and fundamental equality until the law is blocked for good.”
Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador announced plans to appeal Tuesday’s ruling. He noted that even with the injunction in place, portions of the law can still be enforced regarding changing rooms and certain restrooms, and that the law applies to people who are not transgender as well.
“This is a results-driven decision that misapplies the law, confuses the issues, and misrepresents the position of the State,” Labrador said in a statement. “Biological sex is not vague, and neither is this law.”
