Judge Orders CA to Pay $4.5M in Gender Transition Case

0:00It's April 1st, U.S. News Today starts now. AI powered and nationwide, I'm Cory with the story. A federal judge ordered California to pay more than $4,526,000 in legal fees to parents and teachers who. One their challenge against school policies on student gender transitions. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez made the call on March 30th, after the plaintiff scored a big victory with summary judgment and a statewide. Injunction last year, the fight started in April 2023 over rules that pushed schools to back kids' social transitions without looping in parents. Plaintiff said it stomped on their constitutional rights to raise their children and teachers free speech and religious freedoms. Benitez agreed, ruling the policies broke the first and 14th amendments. Reactions poured in from the winning side, with groups like the Thomas Moore Society calling it a wake-up call for states messing with parental authority. The judge highlighted the case's huge stakes on family rights and health decisions, while

1:01ripping state lawyers for dragging things out with weak arguments. On the fee front, Benitez Greenlit, most of the requested amount after checking hours and rates, even bumping it up with a multiplier for the case's impact. He factored in the long haul since 2023 and the exceptional win. Meanwhile, the Corps battled heads to the 9th Circuit, Appeals Court, where the injunction sits reinstated by a Supreme Court emergency order. That block on the policy's holds for now, keeping parents in the loop as the higher courts weigh in.