On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, Bloomberg Law reported that attorneys have requested a Colorado federal judge to step down from a lawsuit involving a college sports conference’s rules on transgender athletes. The request centers on courtroom guidelines set by U.S. District Judge Kato Crews about the use of preferred pronouns. The judge, appointed by President Joe Biden and serving since 2024, introduced these rules in December as part of his “Uniform Civil Practice Standards.”
Judge Crews’ standards encourage lawyers to state the pronouns of attorneys, clients, and witnesses early in proceedings. The guidelines also allow attorneys to notify the court, either during a session or later via email, if an incorrect pronoun is used. The case in question challenges the Mountain West Conference’s policy on transgender athlete participation, and the legal team opposing the policy argues that these courtroom rules infringe on their clients’ and attorneys’ freedom of speech.
The attorneys filing the motion claim that the judge’s standards suggest a bias on matters of sex and gender identity central to the lawsuit. They assert that the court’s readiness to enforce these preferences, potentially through contempt powers, undermines the possibility of a fair hearing. The motion not only asks Judge Crews to remove himself from the case but also seeks to have the pronoun-related standards eliminated entirely.
Based in Denver, Judge Crews is among six federal trial court judges who have implemented similar practices. The attorneys argue that an unbiased judicial process is impossible when a judge has so clearly indicated personal perspectives on the issues under dispute.
Source: Bloomberg Law
