Tennessee
L.W. v. Skrmetti
Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville, TN and their 15-year-old transgender daughter are challenging a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18. Tennessee is home to over 3,000 transgender adolescents and the health care banned by this law is supported by the entire mainstream of the medical community.
Status: Ongoing
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14 Tennessee Cases
Tennessee
Jun 2024
![Photo of Luc Esquivel, a 14-year-old boy in a blue sweater and glasses with a golf club over his shoulder. Luc is standing in a green yard.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/Luc_ACLU-0029-600x400.jpg)
L.E. v Lee
Luc Esquivel is a 15-year-old sophomore at Farragut High School in Knoxville, TN who has been looking forward to trying out for the boys’ golf team. That aspiration was derailed when the Tennessee legislature passed and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law SB 228, which bans transgender middle and high school students from participating on interscholastic sports teams that match their gender. Luc and his family have sued the state of Tennessee.
Status: Closed
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![Photo of Luc Esquivel, a 14-year-old boy in a blue sweater and glasses with a golf club over his shoulder. Luc is standing in a green yard.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/Luc_ACLU-0029-600x400.jpg)
Tennessee
LGBTQ Rights
L.E. v Lee
Luc Esquivel is a 15-year-old sophomore at Farragut High School in Knoxville, TN who has been looking forward to trying out for the boys’ golf team. That aspiration was derailed when the Tennessee legislature passed and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law SB 228, which bans transgender middle and high school students from participating on interscholastic sports teams that match their gender. Luc and his family have sued the state of Tennessee.
Jun 2024
Status: Closed
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Tennessee Supreme Court
May 2024
![Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield](https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield
This case in the Tennessee Supreme Court asks whether the right to petition is an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Tennessee, filed an amicus brief focused on the scope and importance of the right to petition under the Tennessee Constitution.
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![Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield](https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Tennessee Supreme Court
Free Speech
Privacy & Technology
Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield
This case in the Tennessee Supreme Court asks whether the right to petition is an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Tennessee, filed an amicus brief focused on the scope and importance of the right to petition under the Tennessee Constitution.
May 2024
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Tennessee
Oct 2023
![OUTMemphis v. Lee](https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
OUTMemphis v. Lee
OUTMemphis v. Lee is a first-of-its-kind challenge to a state-level HIV criminalization law as a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Constitution. Plaintiffs OUTMemphis and Jane Does 1-4 seek to strike down Tennessee’s discriminatory, irrational and cruel enforcement of its “Aggravated Prostitution” law and related sex offender registration requirements.
Status: Ongoing
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![OUTMemphis v. Lee](https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Tennessee
LGBTQ Rights
+3 Issues
OUTMemphis v. Lee
OUTMemphis v. Lee is a first-of-its-kind challenge to a state-level HIV criminalization law as a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Constitution. Plaintiffs OUTMemphis and Jane Does 1-4 seek to strike down Tennessee’s discriminatory, irrational and cruel enforcement of its “Aggravated Prostitution” law and related sex offender registration requirements.
Oct 2023
Status: Ongoing
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Tennessee
Jan 2023
![Busby v. Bonner](https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Busby v. Bonner
Medically vulnerable people and people with disabilities detained at Shelby County Jail are at grave risk of severe injury or death from COVID-19. An outbreak is already underway, and has infected hundreds of people living and working in the Jail. One staff member has died as a result. Social distancing is impossible, basic hygiene is deficient, and the jail isn’t properly screening, identifying cases, or quarantining people who have been exposed to the virus.
Status: Closed (Settled)
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![Busby v. Bonner](https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Tennessee
Criminal Law Reform
Busby v. Bonner
Medically vulnerable people and people with disabilities detained at Shelby County Jail are at grave risk of severe injury or death from COVID-19. An outbreak is already underway, and has infected hundreds of people living and working in the Jail. One staff member has died as a result. Social distancing is impossible, basic hygiene is deficient, and the jail isn’t properly screening, identifying cases, or quarantining people who have been exposed to the virus.
Jan 2023
Status: Closed (Settled)
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