Judge mulling LGBT law has big-business pedigree

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C.

The fate of the North Carolina law governing transgender restroom access rests in the hands of a judge appointed by President George W. Bush who recently sided with the state’s Republican leaders by upholding a voter ID law – but just had that decision overturned by a federal appeals court.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder, a former corporate lawyer known for representing the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., scheduled oral arguments for today on whether the state can require transgender people to use restrooms in many public buildings that match their birth certificates, rather than their gender identities.

The U.S. Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union are seeking preliminary injunctions to block the restroom provision of the law, known as House Bill 2, which also excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections.

Defending HB2 are Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, state legislative leaders and a citizens’ group. Judge Schroeder has scheduled a trial for November.

“With regard to judicial philosophy, he’s pretty right-wing,” said Norman Smith, a longtime Winston-Salem attorney. Smith suspects Judge Schroeder would “feel comfortable in wanting to uphold HB2,” even though he’s considered more moderate than some other Republican-appointed judges in the state.

As he decides whether HB2 violates federal civil-rights laws, Judge Schroeder must account for a federal appeals court ruling favoring a transgender Virginia teen who has sought access to boys’ bathrooms at his high school, but the judge still has leeway.