WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Maine Legislature must count the votes of a Republican lawmaker who was censured after she identified a transgender teen athlete in a viral social-media post.
The court majority sided with Rep. Laurel Libby of Auburn after she filed an emergency appeal asking for her votes to be counted while her lawsuit over the punishment plays out. There were two noted dissents, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The Democratic-controlled House found that Libby’s viral post had violated its code of ethics by putting the student at risk. House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, invoked a House rule to block her from speaking and voting on the floor after she refused to apologize.
Maine state attorneys argued that she still has other ways to participate in the legislative process, and would regain her voting power if she apologized, but Libby said the punishment violates her right to free speech and leaves her district without representation.
Maine state attorneys argued that she still has other ways to participate in the legislative process, and would regain her voting power if she apologized.
“This decision restores the voice of 9,000 Mainers who were wrongly silenced,” Libby said Tuesday afternoon. “I am grateful for the Court’s action, and I am ready to get back to work representing the people of House District 90.”
Libby said she is continuing to seek a permanent ruling in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals “affirming that legislative leadership cannot weaponize procedure to silence dissent.” Fecteau confirmed in a statement Tuesday that Libby’s “ability to vote on the floor of the House has been restored until the current appeal process runs its course.”
“We look forward to continuing with the important work Maine people expect of us,” Fecteau said.
Libby’s February post was about a high school athlete who won a girls’ track competition. She said the student had previously competed in boys’ track. Her post included a photo of the student and first-name identification in quotation marks.
Libby’s post went viral, preceding a public disagreement over the issue between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills. The Trump administration later filed a lawsuit against the state for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes.