Federal judge blocks Idaho law criminalizing transgender bathroom use
U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday blocking enforcement of Idaho’s House Bill 752, which threatened transgender people with up to five years in prison for using public restrooms consistent with their gender identity rather than their sex assigned at birth. Six transgender Idaho residents sued in April, arguing the measure violated constitutional protections for due process, equal protection and privacy.
In a 30-page decision, the judge found the law’s carve-outs — allowing use of a restroom that is the only one “reasonably available” or when someone is in “dire need” — were too vaguely defined to give people fair notice of what conduct was criminal. She barred enforcement against transgender people using single-occupancy restrooms matching their gender identity, and in cases where no single-user facility is available.
Brailsford also provisionally certified a statewide class of transgender Idahoans, extending the order’s protection well beyond the named plaintiffs while the case proceeds. The injunction is preliminary, so the underlying constitutional questions remain to be litigated.