Minnesota Supreme Court considers transgender weightlifting lawsuit with wide-ranging implications

There was an additional element to this case that raised its stature, and that was Hall’s request that not only should the Minnesota Supreme Court side with her client and reinstate the summary judgements from the Ramsey County District Court, but they should also undo the 2001 state Supreme Court decision in Goins v. West Group.

That case set a standard not only in Minnesota but in legal cases around the country regarding transgender rights in public accommodations. In that case, Julienne Goins, a transgender woman, accused her employer, West Group, of discriminating against her by not allowing her to use the women’s restroom at their office in Eagan.

The state supreme court ultimately ruled “an employer’s designation of employee restroom use based on biological gender is not sexual orientation discrimination in violation of the MHRA.” Justices Alan Page and Paul Anderson added a special concurrence to that opinion which went a step further and noted that Goins had failed to prove she was biologically female.

Hall said that while Cooper’s case vs. USA Powerlifting could be decided without it, “this court should overrule the Goins decision.” Hall noted that courts across the country have become more attuned to discrimination against transgender people, “because in reality treating transgender women different from other women is at the heart of gender discrimination.”

Viksnins argued that Goins “has been good law in Minnesota for 23 years.”

“It should be followed,” Viksnins said. “What’s the proper analytical tool for this case? It’s exactly how Goins analyzed the issue about transgender women using the bathroom … that is biological sex separation and that is exactly what we say here and why the exemption has applicability.”