Dear John,

This has been an eventful summer to say the least. From the overturning of Roe v. Wade to the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a lot has happened in our world. The NWLC litigators have been hard at work participating in lawsuits that directly impact gender justice and other civil rights. Filing amicus briefs in support of LGBTQ+ customers, students of color, and survivors has been an important way for us to help shape the outcome of cases and push the law to develop in ways that recognize crucial rights. In the past, our amicus briefs have even been cited in court decisions—including by the Supreme Court. As the summer comes to a close, we wanted to reach out to our most engaged supporters to give you an update on four recent amicus briefs led by our NWLC litigators:

• 303 Creative v. Elenis — LGBTQ+ Rights: This case will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and deals with a graphic design company that plans to deny LGBTQ+ couples wedding website services. The company is challenging the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and arguing that it violates the company’s First Amendment rights. NWLC’s brief focuses on the harms to women, especially LGBTQ+ women and women of color, that would result if the company was allowed to discriminate against customers based on sexual orientation, and how this would be out of line with decades of precedent that does not allow businesses to turn some groups of customers away.
• Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina — Affirmative Action: These cases will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and involve challenges to the admissions policies used by Harvard College and the University of North Carolina that consider race as one factor in cultivating a diverse student body. NWLC’s brief highlights the ways that affirmative action policies are necessary for addressing race and sex discrimination based on stereotypes and the effects of historic and current discrimination that uniquely harm women of color, who continue to remain underrepresented in higher education.
• Carolina Youth Action Project v. Wilson — Policing in Schools: This case, on appeal before the Fourth Circuit, stems from an incident in 2015 when a school resource officer flipped over a Black girl at her desk and dragged her across the classroom because she didn’t hand over her phone. NWLC’s brief details how school disciplinary laws and school policing perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline and illustrates the severe harm Black students and other students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities, and students at the intersections of these identities face.
• Brown v. Arizona — Title IX: This case was brought by Mackenzie Brown, a former University of Arizona student, to hold the university accountable for the egregious sex-based harassment she suffered in an off-campus apartment after the school failed to take action in the face of known, repeated abuse of other female students. NWLC’s brief to the federal appeals court in the 9th Circuit explains how sexual violence, regardless of where it occurs, has disastrous consequences on the academic well-being of survivors, who frequently report declines in their grades or having to drop out due to the trauma of their assault.

These are just a few of the cases we’re contributing to as part of our litigation program. With your support, the National Women’s Law Center will continue to pursue litigation efforts, including filing important amicus briefs like those above, as one tool in the larger fight for gender justice for years to come—until there is justice for all. Thank you for being with us.

In solidarity,

Phoebe Wolfe
she/her
Litigation Fellow

P.S. If you want to stay up to date on all of our litigation work, check it out here!