The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has dismissed an appeal from members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority seeking to reinstate their lawsuit challenging the admission of a transgender member. The lawsuit originally contended that the sorority’s decision violated its founding principles and bylaws.
Attorney May Mailman, representing the sorority sisters, disagreed with the court’s reasoning. “We disagree the court lacked appellate jurisdiction. As we explained in our brief, appellate courts consider district court decisions that go to the merits of the case, which the Wyoming decision certainly did,” Mailman stated in a comment to Law.com. Mailman emphasized the importance of preserving the camaraderie and safety that sororities provide for women. However, she noted, achieving this goal seems to require robust judicial support.
The court’s decision to dismiss the appeal leaves the initial ruling by the Wyoming District Court intact, effectively ending this particular legal battle for the sorority members who objected to the inclusion of a transgender member.