BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A lawyer who helped challenge Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors has been indicted on a federal charge accusing him of making a false statement during a judicial investigation into attorney conduct.
Federal prosecutors say attorney Carl Charles, who works with the civil rights group Lambda Legal, falsely denied contacting a judge’s chambers while litigation over the state’s 2022 gender-affirming care law was underway. The case grew out of an inquiry into whether lawyers opposing the law tried to steer their lawsuit away from a judge they viewed as unsympathetic — a practice known as “judge shopping.”
Charles later corrected his statement, saying he had in fact reached out through a court clerk and apologized. He has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment follows sanctions earlier this year by U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke, who removed Charles and two other attorneys from the case and fined them for attempting to manipulate the court’s random assignment system. Judge Burke also referred Charles’s conduct to federal prosecutors, leading to the criminal charge.
The prosecution has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates and legal groups who say the Justice Department is overstepping by criminalizing what they view as a procedural mistake in a politically charged case. The New York City Bar Association and others have urged federal officials to drop the case, arguing that attorney discipline should be handled by the courts, not through criminal prosecution.
Alabama’s law, called the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, makes it a felony for doctors to prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to transgender people under 19. Supporters say the measure protects minors from irreversible medical decisions, while opponents call it a dangerous intrusion into families’ private medical choices.
A federal judge initially blocked the law from taking effect, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later allowed the state to enforce it. The litigation challenging the law was ultimately dismissed this year amid the continuing court fight.
Charles’s indictment adds a new layer of controversy to Alabama’s already contentious debate over transgender rights, drawing national attention to how the state’s legal and political climate has become a testing ground for restrictions on gender-affirming care.