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Judge Blocks DOJ Subpoena for Transgender Youth Records

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Judge Blocks DOJ Subpoena for Transgender Youth Records

2026-06-24 19:48 UTCBy AlphaScala Research DeskSource reporting: upi.comEditorial standards

Judge Blocks DOJ Subpoena for Transgender Youth Records

A federal judge in New York blocked the Trump administration's attempt to subpoena medical records of minors who received gender-affirming care, citing strong privacy protections.

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A federal judge in New York on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration's effort to subpoena medical records of minors who received gender-affirming care at NYU Langone Hospitals. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla issued a temporary restraining order and provisionally certified a class of patients who received care from the New York City provider over the past six years.

The subpoena originated from a federal grand jury in Texas. It demanded documents "sufficient to identify every patient who underwent sex-rejecting procedures" along with all related records from initial consultation through the most recent treatment, including parental authorizations. Failla ruled from the bench that the scope of information sought was "significant" and fell "squarely within the class of intimate materials warranting the strongest constitutional protection."

The judge zeroed in on a core problem with the government's request. "Because I cannot conceive of a crime that would require the breadth of disclosures in the subpoena," she said, "I have to find that the government's interest does not outweigh the plaintiffs' interest in privacy." She also noted that statements made by the Justice Department implied the patients themselves could face criminal prosecution. That undercut the government's assurances that patients would not be targeted.

Failla criticized the DOJ for using grand jury subpoenas to sidestep earlier court losses on similar civil subpoenas. "Undeterred by its disastrous showing in the courts," she wrote, the department "decided to issue nearly identical document requests in the form of grand jury subpoenas from a hand-picked, far-away jurisdiction in order to minimize judicial review of constitutional infirmities."

NYU Langone stopped providing gender-identity care for minors earlier this year after the administration threatened to pull federal funding. Other hospitals have ended similar programs under government pressure. Stanford University's Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital also received a grand jury subpoena from Texas prosecutors. A separate group of patients from Stanford is seeking a similar court order to block release of their records.

Chase Strangio, an ACLU attorney representing the New York plaintiffs, said in a statement that patients and families "trust their doctors with their most intimate, private information" and should be able to trust that information will be protected from "impermissible and harassing demands for disclosure." Omar Gonzalez-Pagan of Lambda Legal called the ruling "an enormous relief" and said the government cannot abuse its powers to violate constitutional rights.

For hospitals and insurers, the ruling creates a near-term legal buffer. The temporary restraining order and class certification mean the DOJ cannot immediately access records of thousands of patients at NYU Langone. The investigation remains active, and the government could appeal or issue new subpoenas to other providers. Hospitals that have not yet received subpoenas may still face similar demands if the DOJ expands its probe.

The strongest protection for healthcare providers is the constitutional privacy reasoning Failla laid out. If the Second Circuit upholds her order, it could set a precedent that limits the government's ability to use grand jury subpoenas to obtain medical records of transgender patients. A reversal would reopen the door to broader record demands. The Stanford case, pending in California, will test whether other district courts follow Failla's reasoning.

Wednesday's ruling does not end the investigation. The class certification ensures any future subpoena to NYU Langone for similar records faces the same constitutional scrutiny. The temporary restraining order remains in place until the court holds a full hearing on a preliminary injunction. No date has been set.