Idaho judge blocks criminal penalties tied to restroom use by transgender people

A federal judge in Idaho has put key parts of the state’s new restroom law on hold. The ruling means transgender people cannot be criminally charged in several situations covered by the law while the case continues.

The decision came just before the measure was set to take effect on July 1. It is one of the toughest bathroom restriction laws passed in the U.S. because it reaches beyond schools and public buildings and includes criminal penalties.

Judge pauses enforcement before July 1

U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford issued the ruling on Tuesday, June 17, in a lawsuit brought by six transgender Idaho residents. They are represented by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued the law is too vague to be enforced fairly.

Brailsford did not block the entire law. But she said the state cannot enforce it against someone using a single-stall restroom, or when no single-user restroom is available and unoccupied on the same floor as a multi-user restroom.

That pause matters because the law created unusually steep penalties. A first offense could bring up to 1 year in jail, and a second offense could carry up to 5 years in prison, according to the text of the measure signed in March by Republican Gov. Brad Little.

Why Idaho’s law stood out nationally

At least 19 states, including Idaho, have passed laws limiting which bathrooms transgender people can use in schools or certain public buildings. Idaho’s law went further by applying to restrooms in private buildings if those restrooms are open to the public.

The law also included narrow exceptions. It allowed use of a single-use restroom designated for the “opposite sex” if it was the only reasonably available option and the person was in “dire need” of using the restroom.

That wording became a major issue in court. The Idaho Chiefs of Police Association had raised concerns about how officers would determine whether someone was truly in “dire need,” and the plaintiffs argued that uncertainty made the law unconstitutionally vague.

State vows appeal as larger case moves on

In a statement after the ruling, Lambda Legal attorney Kell Olson said the order allows transgender people across Idaho to use public restrooms “without the fear of arrest looming over them” while the case continues.

ACLU attorney Barbara Schwabauer called the preliminary injunction “a vital first step” and said no one should have to choose between arrest and the risk of harassment or violence. Civil rights groups are seeking to permanently block the law in court.

Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said the state will appeal. He argued the law can still take effect for changing rooms and some restrooms, and said, “Biological sex is not vague, and neither is this law.”