What’s the greatest joy for a federal district court judge? One happy day might be if he’s flipped by the Court of Appeals, certiorari is granted, and the Supreme Court flips again, saying the trial court was right all along. But recently something happened even rarer, that might be even more satisfying to the Judge I clerked for: after the Seventh Circuit reversed him, that court itself later said it was wrong. It only took twenty-four years.
In 1983, Judge John Grady, appointed by a Republican President, issued a decision ruling that discrimination against someone for being a transsexual violated Title VII. Ulane v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., 581 F.Supp. 821 (N.D.Ill. 1983).
The Seventh Circuit promptly reversed. Ulane v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., 742 F.2d 1081 (7th Cir. 1984). According to the Court of Appeals, “because of sex” as used in Title VII couldn’t mean sexual orientation or identity.
The Supreme Court denied