United States Ninth Circuit

In a suit brought against the Air Force challenging the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy after plaintiff was suspended from duty as an Air Force reservist nurse on account of her sexual relationship with a civilian woman, dismissal of the suit for failure to state a claim is reversed in part where: 1) the DADT, after Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), must satisfy an intermediate level of scrutiny under substantive due process; and 2) such inquiry requires facts not present on the record before the circuit court.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/05/2007
• Decided 05/21/2008
• Published 05/21/2008

Judges

• GOULD, Circuit Judge:, Before:  WILLIAM C. CANBY, Senior Circuit Judge, SUSAN P. GRABER, and RONALD M. GOULD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• James E. Lobsenz, Carney Badley Spellman, P.S., Seattle, WA, for the appellant., Aaron H. Caplan, ACLU of Washington, Seattle, WA, for the appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Peter Keisler, Attorney General, Department of Justice, WA, DC, for the appellees., Anthony J. Steinmeyer, Assistant Branch Director, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for the appellees.