U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from obtaining sensitive medical records of transgender minors treated at New York hospitals. Ruling that the Justice Department's grand jury subpoenas violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, Failla accused federal prosecutors of using criminal probes to bypass prior civil defeats. The ruling protects patients at institutions like NYU Langone, which halted its youth gender care program earlier this year under federal funding threats.
Judge blocks medical records subpoena
- ▪U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla temporarily blocked federal prosecutors from obtaining sensitive medical records of transgender patients treated at New York hospitals
- ▪Judge Katherine Polk Failla provisionally certified a class of individuals who received gender identity care from a New York City provider over a six-year period
- ▪Judge Katherine Polk Failla scheduled a July 8, 2026 hearing to evaluate additional evidence before deciding whether to issue a preliminary injunction
DOJ transgender care investigation
- ▪The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a nationwide criminal investigation into the provision of gender identity care, including potential misbranding of drugs and fraudulent billing
- ▪The U.S. Justice Department has argued that its investigation is examining whether providers unlawfully promoted off-label drug use for cross-sex hormone therapy and puberty blockers
Grand jury subpoena tactics
- ▪Judge Katherine Polk Failla accused the Justice Department of using grand jury subpoenas to bypass prior adverse civil rulings from judges across the country
- ▪The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas issued a federal grand jury subpoena to NYU Langone Hospitals on May 7, 2026
- ▪The grand jury subpoena demanded NYU Langone Hospitals produce records sufficient to identify every patient who underwent sex-rejecting procedures from January 1, 2020 to May 5, 2026
Patient privacy constitutional rights
- ▪Plaintiffs, including minors and parents, filed a lawsuit fearing that disclosure of their medical records would expose them to retaliation by the Trump administration
- ▪Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled that the Justice Department's subpoenas violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Hospitals end gender identity programs
- ▪NYU Langone Hospitals stopped providing gender identity care for minors in early 2026 after the Trump administration threatened to withdraw federal funding
- ▪Stanford University’s Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital also received a grand jury subpoena from Texas prosecutors regarding its gender identity care
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