Amicus Queeriae Jamie Francesca Rodriguez & Amy Stephens

In this episode, we trace the transformation of the Supreme Court's thinking on the criminalization of being gay from Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986) to Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). The seeds of change were planted in historical cases concerning Constitutional rights to privacy, liberty, and equal protection. Between Bowers and Lawrence the Court's majority view shifted from disdain to respect for the autonomy of people to make intimate and personal choices, regardless of sexual orientation.

In this episode, Jamie Francesca Rodriguez and Amy Stephens break down the Supreme Court's recent decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, No. 19-123 (U.S. June 17, 2021). It's a bad decision for the LGBTQ+ community, but not as bad as it could have been. The opinion is available at https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-123_g3bi.pdf. 

In Episode 1, Amy and Jamie introduce ourselves, share our vision for the podcast, and discuss the recent California Court of Appeal opinion in Murphy v. Twitter affirming the dismissal of Murphy's suit as barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (the "CDA").
Murphy, an inveterate TERF, repeatedly ignored Twitter's Hateful Conduct Policy by demeaning and misgendering transgender women. After repeated warnings and temporary account suspensions, Twitter permanently suspended Murphy's account. Murphy sued. The Court noted that "under section 230, interactive computer service providers have broad immunity from liability for traditional editorial functions undertaken by publishers—such as decisions whether to publish, withdraw, postpone or alter content created by third parties." The Court concluded "Murphy’s suit is barred by the broad immunity conferred by the CDA," and affirmed the lower courts dismissal of her claims. See Murhpy v. Twitter, No. A158214 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan 22, 2021) available at https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A158214.PDF. Thus, Section 230 permits Twitter and other internet platform providers to police hateful, anti-trans content posted to their platforms.

In this preview episode of Amicus Queeriae, Amy Stephens and I discuss President Biden's Executive Orders, with a focus on those that establish a federal policy  of promoting equity and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual,  transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons. Check us out on Anchor.fm, or wherever you get your podcast fix.