Stockman v. Trump

Decision Date18 September 2018
Docket NumberCase No. EDCV 17-01799 JGB (KKx)
Citation331 F.Supp.3d 990
Parties Aiden STOCKMAN, et al. v. Donald J. TRUMP, et al.
CourtU.S. District Court — Central District of California

Amy Christine Quartarolo, Adam Sieff, Harrison J. White, Marvin S. Putnam, Latham and Watkins LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Amy E. Whelan, Shannon Minter, San Francisco, CA, Jennifer Levi, Mary L. Bonauto, Boston, MA, for Aiden Stockman, et al.

Andrew E. Carmichael, Matthew Skurnik, Robert Mark Norway, Ryan Bradley Parker, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Donald J. Trump, et al.

Proceedings: Order DENYING Defendants' Motion to Dissolve the Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. No. 82) (IN CHAMBERS)

Present: The Honorable JESUS G. BERNAL, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On March 23, 2018, Defendants Donald J. Trump ("President Trump"), in his official capacity as President of the United States; James N. Mattis, in his official capacity as Secretary of Defense; Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., in his official capacity as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Richard V. Spencer, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Navy; Ryan D. McCarthy, in his official capacity as Acting Secretary of the Army; Heather A. Wilson, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Air Force; and Elaine C. Duke, in her official capacity as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security (collectively, "Defendants") filed a Motion to Dissolve the Preliminary Injunction. ("Motion," Dkt. No. 82.) Plaintiffs Aiden Stockman, Nicolas Talbott, Tamasyn Reeves, Jaquice Tate, John Doe 1, John Doe 2, Jane Doe, and Equality California (collectively, "Plaintiffs") filed an opposition on April 25, 2018. ("Opposition," Dkt. No. 98.) Defendants filed a reply on May 7, 2018. ("Reply," Dkt. No. 105). The Court held a hearing on this matter on July 30, 2018. Upon consideration of the papers filed in support of and in opposition to this Motion, as well as the oral arguments presented by the parties, the Court DENIES Defendants' Motion.

I. BACKGROUND
A. Procedural History

On September 5, 2017, Plaintiffs filed a complaint against Defendants, asserting four causes of action: (1) Fifth Amendment equal protection; (2) Fifth Amendment due process; (3) Fifth Amendment right to privacy; and (4) First Amendment retaliation for free speech and expression. ("Complaint," Dkt. No. 1 ¶¶ 49–77.) Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief. (Id. ) Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction on October 2, 2017. ("MPI," Dkt. No. 15.) The Court granted Plaintiffs' MPI on December 22, 2017. ("December Order," Dkt. No. 79.)

B. Factual History

The parties do not dispute the basic facts in this case. In June 2016, after multiple years of data review, the Department of Defense ("DOD") announced it would implement a new policy which allowed transgender people to serve openly in the United States military ("June 2016 Policy"). (See generally Dkt. No. 28, Exh. C.) On July 26, 2017, President Trump changed course, and tweeted:

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.

("President Trump's Twitter Proclamation," Dkt. No. 28, Exh. F.)

On August 25, 2017, President Trump issued a memorandum ("2017 Presidential Memorandum") formalizing the policy he announced via Twitter. (Dkt. No. 28, Exh. G.) The 2017 Presidential Memorandum contained several operative prongs: (1) it indefinitely extended the prohibition preventing transgender individuals from entering the military (the "Accession Directive"); (2) it required the military to authorize the discharge of transgender service members (the "Retention Directive"); and (3) it largely halted the use of DOD or Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") resources to fund sex reassignment surgical procedures for current military members ("Sex Reassignment Surgery Directive") (collectively, "Directives"). (Id. at 47.) The DOD was to submit a plan implementing the 2017 Presidential Memorandum by February 2018. (Id. )

On September 14, 2017, Defendant Mattis, the current Secretary of Defense, issued an "Interim Guidance" which established the temporary DOD policy regarding transgender persons. DoD Interim Guidance on Military Service by Transgender Individuals (September 2017), available at https://defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/PDFs/Military-Service-ByTransgender-Individuals-Interim-Guidance.pdf (last visited September 13, 2018). While the Interim Guidance was in effect, no current transgender service member could be discharged or denied reenlistment solely based on their transgender status. Id.

1. Military Transgender Policy before July 2017

In August 2014, the DOD removed references to mandatory exclusion based on gender and identity disorders from its physical disability policy. ("Declaration of Eric K. Fanning," Dkt. No. 22 ¶¶ 12–13.) Additionally, the DOD directed each branch of the armed forces to assess whether there remained any justification to prohibit service by openly transgender individuals. (Id. at 13.)

In July 2015, then-Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter created a group to begin comprehensively analyzing whether any justification remained which validated the ban on open service by transgender individuals. ("Declaration of Brad Carson," Dkt. No. 26 ¶¶ 8–9.) The working group created by Secretary Carter included the Armed Services, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the service secretaries, and other specialists from throughout the DOD (the "Working Group"). (Id. ¶ 9.) As part of the review process, the Working Group analyzed evidence from a variety of sources, including scholarly materials and consultations with medical experts, personnel experts, readiness experts, health insurance companies, civilian employers, and commanders of units with transgender service members. (Id. ¶ 10.)

In addition, the Working Group commissioned the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research institution that provides analysis to the military, to complete a comprehensive study on the impact of permitting transgender individuals to serve openly. (Id. ¶ 11.) The 113-page study, "Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly" (the "RAND Report," Dkt. No. 26, Exh. B), examined factors such as the health care costs and readiness implications of allowing open service by transgender persons. The RAND Report also analyzed the other 18 foreign militaries which permit military service by transgender individuals, focusing on Australia, Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom—the four countries "with the most well-developed and publicly available policies on transgender military personnel." (RAND Report at 23.) This comparative analysis found no evidence that allowing open service by transgender persons would negatively affect operational effectiveness, readiness, or unit cohesion. (Id. at 24.) Moreover, the RAND Report concluded healthcare costs for transgender service members would "have little impact on and represents an exceedingly small proportion of [the DOD's] overall health care expenditures." (Id. at 22–23.) Specifically, the RAND Report found health care costs would increase "by between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually." (Id. at 22.) By contrast, the overall healthcare cost of those serving in the active component of the military is approximately $6 billion annually, while the overall healthcare cost for the DOD is $49.3 billion annually. (Id. at 22–23.) Furthermore, the RAND Report noted discharging transgender service members, "[a]s was the case in enforcing the policy on homosexual conduct, [ ] can involve costly administrative processes and result in the discharge of personnel with valuable skills who are otherwise qualified." (Id. at 77.) At the conclusion of its analysis, the Working Group "did not identify any basis for a blanket prohibition on open military service of transgender people. Likewise, no one suggested ... that a bar on military service by transgender persons was necessary for any reason, including readiness or unit cohesion." (Declaration of Eric K. Fanning ¶ 27.)

Based on the results of this review process, on June 30, 2016, Secretary Carter issued a Directive-type Memorandum announcing transgender Americans may serve openly and without fear of being discharged based solely on that status. ("DTM 16-005," Dkt. No. 22, Exh. C.) Secretary Carter stated:

These policies and procedures are premised on my conclusion that open service by transgender Service members while being subject to the same standards and procedures as other members with regard to their medical fitness for duty, physical fitness, uniform and grooming, deployability and retention, is consistent with military readiness and with strength through diversity.

(Id. at 135.)

Some of the highest ranking military officials in the country concurred with this assessment. (See generally Declaration of Eric K. Fanning; "Declaration of Michael Mullen," Dkt. No. 21; "Declaration of Raymond E. Mabus," Dkt. No. 23; "Declaration of Deborah L. James," Dkt. No. 24.) According to the directive, transgender individuals would be permitted to enlist in the military and serve openly beginning on July 1, 2017. (DTM 16-005, at 137.) This date was later postponed to January 1, 2018. (See Dkt. No. 28, Exh. E.) The DOD also issued handbooks, regulations, and memoranda which instructed military commanders how to implement the new policies, set forth guidance related to medical treatment provisions, and expressly prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender identity. (See"Transgender Service in the U.S. Military," Dkt. No. 22, Exh. 6.)

The former military leaders among the Working Group, such as former Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...

To continue reading

Request your trial
3 cases
  • Doe v. Shanahan
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia)
    • 8 Marzo 2019
    ...‘special additional exclusionary rule.’ " Appellees’ Br. 20 (quoting Doe II , 315 F.Supp.3d at 497 ); accord, e.g., Stockman v. Trump , 331 F.Supp.3d 990, 999–1000 (C.D. Cal. 2018), appeal docketed , No. 18-56539 (9th Cir. Nov. 16, 2018), stayed , No. 18A627, ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S.Ct. 950, –......
  • Stone v. Trump, Civil Action No. GLR-17-2459
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 4th Circuit. United States District Court (Maryland)
    • 20 Agosto 2019
    ...ECF No. 96. In Stockman and Doe 2, the district courts denied the motions to dissolve the preliminary injunctions. Stockman v. Trump, 331 F.Supp.3d 990, 1004 (C.D.Cal. 2018) ; Doe 2 v. Trump, 315 F.Supp.3d 474, 498 (D.D.C. 2018), rev'd sub nom. Doe 2 v. Shanahan, 755 Fed.Appx. 19 (D.C. Cir.......
  • Serv. Women's Action Network v. Mattis
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. Northern District of California
    • 29 Noviembre 2018
    ...courts have refused to apply Trump to challenges to discriminatory practices within the military. See Stockman v. Trump , 331 F.Supp.3d 990, 1001–02 (C.D. Cal. 2018) (Bernal, J.) (finding that Trump did not apply to a policy "banning transgender people from the military"); Karnoski v. Trump......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT