{"id":2276,"date":"2026-06-08T21:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2276"},"modified":"2026-06-08T21:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:06:10","slug":"federal-judge-in-r-i-refers-doj-lawyers-for-possible-discipline-over-handling-of-transgender-youth-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2276","title":{"rendered":"Federal judge in R.I. refers DOJ lawyers for possible discipline over handling of transgender youth case"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>PROVIDENCE \u2014 A federal judge in Rhode Island has referred Justice Department lawyers to disciplinary proceedings after accusing the federal government of making \u201cfalse representations\u201d in a case involving the medical records of transgender children and teens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2274\">Mass. lawmakers embrace a 3 a.m. last call for the World Cup, expand public drinking through July<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>US District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy issued the order on Friday, citing \u201cthe representations made to this court\u201d by the DOJ attorneys.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a hearing on May 12, she had slammed the lawyers for not giving a Texas judge all of the relevant information before asking him to order Rhode Island Hospital to turn over the private medical records, including names, of children and teens treated for gender dysphoria over the past five years.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>McElroy\u2019s referral comes after a separate Rhode Island case in which the DOJ failed to disclose to US District Court Judge Melissa DuBose that an undocumented immigrant was wanted for murder in the Dominican Republic. Without that information, DuBose released the man, and now no one can find him.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Rhode Map<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cWe are at the end of our tether with the DOJ making false representations to this court,\u201d McElroy said May 12.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a subsequent ruling the next day quashing the DOJ\u2019s subpoena for the medical records, McElroy wrote that \u201cthe discrepancy between the honorable conduct expected of federal prosecutors and DOJ\u2019s tactics in this case is unsettling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Justice Department was seeking expansive medical records of an undisclosed number of minors who received gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers in the state\u2019s largest hospital system, which treats children at Hasbro Children\u2019s Hospital. The demand specifically sought the names, parents\u2019 names, diagnoses, and Social Security numbers of the patients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Trump administration has been trying to track down the records of transgender medical treatment of minors across the country since last year, but has been blocked by judges in seven different federal districts, including Massachusetts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>McElroy called the investigation a \u201dfishing expedition&#8221; and said the subpoena was issued in \u201cbad faith.\u201d She also said the DOJ misled the Texas judge, Reed O\u2019Connor, by claiming that Rhode Island Hospital had not communicated with the Justice Department about the subpoena in months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The hospital system and the DOJ had actually emailed about it two days prior to the Justice Department asking O\u2019Connor to enforce the subpoena on April 30, which he did.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThis reckless disregard for the duty of candor owed to a federal court is appalling,\u201d McElroy said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After McElroy quashed the subpoena, O\u2019Connor ordered Rhode Island Hospital to turn the records over to him directly, and said he would not release them to the Justice Department unless they win an appeal. The hospital system, which has also appealed O\u2019Connor\u2019s ruling, has begun sending the records to Texas but did not release patient identities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Justice Department is appealing McElroy\u2019s ruling, and said last week her allegations of misrepresentations were \u201cwithout merit.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSuch accusations against department attorneys are rare and serious,\u201d the June 3 press release said. \u201cOur attorneys did not misrepresent facts, withhold relevant information, or otherwise mislead the Court.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2272\">Mass. judge throws out Trump\u2019s $100,000 H-1B visa fee for highly skilled workers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>McElroy also accused the Justice Department of \u201cshopping\u201d the case to Texas despite the subpoena being issued to a Rhode Island hospital. She called the move \u201cdirty pool.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>She also criticized a senior attorney who was at the hearing and \u201csat silently by as his counterpart, a junior attorney who has been practicing law for approximately six months and had no relevant information, was forced to answer questions about DOJ\u2019s blatant disregard for the proper course of negotiations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Justice Department has defended its decision to enforce the Rhode Island subpoena in Northern Texas, arguing the underlying investigation is based there. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The DOJ has said its investigation is looking into alleged \u201cmisbranding\u201d of FDA-approved drugs for unapproved uses, in this case, as puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Doctors are legally allowed to prescribe FDA-approved drugs off-label, and commonly do so for conditions ranging from weight loss to cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Brantley Mayers, a Justice Department attorney, acknowledged in the May 12 hearing that off-label prescribing is legal, but said the agency was looking into whether pharmaceutical companies were providing \u201cfinancial incentives\u201d for the doctors to prescribe the drugs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He said the DOJ preferred to get the names of the children and their parents so they could potentially interview them in the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Child advocates argue the disclosure would amount to outing transgender youth, and would violate their privacy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>NYU Langone, a hospital system in New York City, confirmed in May it received a grand jury subpoena from Northern Texas, which indicates that a criminal investigation is underway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The subpoenas to Rhode Island Hospital and other hospital systems last summer had been administrative, not from grand juries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>McElroy\u2019s order on Friday means the active federal judges of Rhode Island\u2019s District Court will review the alleged misconduct of the lawyers and \u201cdetermine the appropriate course of action,\u201d said Frank Perry, a spokesperson for the court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Perry said the options include referring the lawyers to a disciplinary agency, ordering an investigation, providing notice to the attorney of the alleged misconduct, or commencing formal disciplinary proceedings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Asked for comment the referral, DOJ spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre pointed to her previous comments, where she told the Globe that McElroy\u2019s \u201cattack on the professionalism and integrity of DOJ attorneys is outrageous and unjustified.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2270\">Ken Paxton\u2019s attorney in his impeachment trial endorses James Talarico in US Senate race<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Justice Department said Judge Mary McElroy\u2019s allegations against its lawyers were \u201cwithout merit\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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