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New Hampshire
Judge to decide Monday whether transgender N.H. teen can play on her school’s soccer team – The Boston Globe
Christopher G. Bond, general counsel for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, said Sunday that the attorney general’s office is tasked with defending duly enacted state laws in court, so the office won’t agree to a temporary restraining order that would result in the suspension of provisions of the law at issue in this case.
The parties had until Monday morning to file a joint stipulation to formalize their potential agreement. But the court on Sunday scheduled a hearing for Monday at 2 p.m. to address a pending emergency motion, which signaled that no deal had been reached.
The plaintiffs’ emergency motion asks the judge to temporarily block New Hampshire education officials from enforcing the law and to allow Tirrell to keep attending practice and games with her team.
Chief Judge Landya B. McCafferty is presiding over this case in the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire. She was nominated by former president Barack Obama and is the first woman to serve as a federal district court judge in New Hampshire.
The enforcement action that triggered this lawsuit came Thursday, when the superintendent of Tirrell’s school district notified Tirrell’s parents that the teen would no longer be welcome at soccer practice beginning Monday, since the new law barring her from the team would take effect over the weekend.
With backing from three law firms that advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Tirrell and Turmelle, along with their respective parents, filed a lawsuit Friday to challenge enforcement of the new law.
Their attorneys argue in court filings that Tirrell, a rising sophomore at Plymouth Regional High School, and Turmelle, a rising ninth-grader at Pembroke Academy, will be denied “a critical aspect of their education” unless the court provides immediate relief.
“They are young adolescents at a critical stage of their personal development,” the attorneys wrote. “They will never get their early high school years back and, as such, a preliminary injunction is necessary to avoid the denial of a critical and unique educational program that cannot be repeated or replaced, let alone adequately compensated by money damages.”
“In their short high school careers, a single day that they miss out on essential educational opportunities will cause them great harm,” they added.
Proponents of the legislation — which Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, signed last month — said it would protect safety and fairness for girls’ sports.
“It may not be universal, but biological males have a strength and speed advantage over biological females,” said New Hampshire Senate President Jeb Bradley, a Wolfeboro Republican, during legislative debate in May.
The lawsuit contends, however, that being transgender “is not an accurate proxy for athletic performance or ability.” Tirrell and Turmell are taking puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy, so they won’t experience the muscular development and other physical changes that is typical for testosterone-driven male puberty, their lawsuit says.
Their attorneys argue they don’t have any physiological or biological advantage in girls’ sports and are being excluded based on their status as members of “a politically unpopular class.”
Under the new restrictions, public schools that serve students in fifth through 12th grades, and private schools whose students compete against public schools, must designate each of their interscholastic sports and club athletics teams as being for either males, females, or both.
A student’s sex is determined based on their unamended birth certificate. If a birth certificate “does not appear to be” original or does not specify sex at birth, then the student “must provide other evidence indicating the student’s sex at the time of birth” and cover any costs associated with doing so.
Private parties can sue schools for failing to enforce the new law’s restrictions.
The issue of how to treat transgender athletes has been a contentious topic in recent years. In late July, the Associated Press reported, a Florida school employee who allowed her transgender daughter to play on the high school’s girls volleyball team was suspended for 10 days. The employee is part of a federal lawsuit to block Florida’s law. A legal challenge to Connecticut’s policy about trans students competing in school sports has been making its way through the court system for several years.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Crime
Elijah Allman’s arrest on March 1 was his second in New Hampshire in a matter of days.
A court hearing for Cher’s son Wednesday over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home this month has been canceled.
Elijah Allman’s arrest on March 1 was his second in New Hampshire in a matter of days. Allman, the 49-year-old son of the iconic singer and actress, was also detained Feb. 27, accused of acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in Concord.
It is unclear if Allman, of Malibu, California, has any connection to the home in Windham, New Hampshire. He is being held in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said.
The hearing Wednesday was continued until an undetermined date after Allman got an attorney Wednesday morning. The attorney, Sarah Landres, did not respond to a request for comment.
Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, is charged with two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it.
Officials at St. Paul’s School said Allman last month identified himself as the parent of a prospective student and slipped into the dining hall as some students were leaving the building. Police responded to reports that he was disturbing people in the building.
He was charged with four misdemeanors in the school incident: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime. He was released on bail.
Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working.
In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman’s struggles with his mental health and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.
The petition says the superstar performer’s son is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he was in a good place, was attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his estranged wife.
The son of Cher is scheduled to be in court Wednesday for a hearing over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home earlier this month.
It was the second arrest in a matter of days for Elijah Allman, 49, of Malibu, California, who was detained Feb. 27 after allegedly acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in New Hampshire. It was unclear if Allman had any connection to either St. Paul’s School or the home in Windham, New Hampshire.
Allman remains in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections in what is called preventive detention, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said.
Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, faces two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it .
In the incident at the prep school, Allman was charged with four misdemeanors: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime.
At about 7 p.m. that day, Concord police responded to reports that Allman was disturbing people in the dining hall of St. Paul’s School. After charging Allman, police said he was released on bail as his case works through the court system.
Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working. It was unclear from the court records if Allman has an attorney.
In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman struggles with mental health issues and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.
The petition from the singer and actress said Elijah Allman is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.
A few weeks later, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he is in a good place now, attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his previously estranged wife.
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