Week of June 10-16, 2025

In local courts, the 10th Circuit partially revived a civil rights lawsuit by a transgender pretrial detainee, with debate among several judges over whether heightened scrutiny or rational basis review applies to sex-based classifications in prison policies. The Colorado Court of Appeals upheld teacher evaluation rules, finding the State Board of Education didn’t exceed its statutory authority in defining performance ratings and limiting appeal grounds. Nationally, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the government's defenses in a wrong-house FBI raid case. The court ruled that the FTCA’s law enforcement proviso overrides only certain tort exceptions and rejected a broad “supremacy clause” defense.