Maryland District Court Rules Government Action Lacks Legitimate Purpose, Violates Constitutional Privacy Rights

BALTIMORE, MD – January 21, 2026 – In a significant ruling protecting the privacy rights of patients and families, U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin today granted a motion to quash a Department of Justice subpoena demanding the medical records of families whose children received transgender health care at Children’s National Hospital.

In her opinion, Judge Rubin found that the DOJ subpoena “lacks a proper investigative purpose” and “appears to have no purpose other than to intimidate and harass” the Hospital and families seeking established, essential medical care for their children. The court determined the subpoena was “a pretext to fulfill the Executive’s well-publicized policy objective to terminate and block” transgender health care. 

The ruling emphasizes that patients have a constitutionally protected right to privacy in their sensitive medical records, particularly when the government cannot demonstrate a legitimate investigative basis for demanding them.

“The Government has made improper use of a §3486 administrative subpoena to out [families] for receiving, and their Hospital for providing, healthcare,” Judge Rubin wrote, characterizing the action as “the classic impermissible fishing expedition.”

“Today’s ruling is a crucial victory for families and for the fundamental right to medical privacy,” said Donovan Bendana, Liman Law Fellow at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and counsel for the families. “The court saw through the government’s attempt to use its investigative powers as a weapon against families who are simply trying to access healthcare for their children. These families should never have been forced to go to court to protect their children’s private medical information from government intrusion. This decision makes clear the federal government does not have the authority to intimidate patients and doctors or to insert itself into private medical decisions. We are grateful the court stood up for these families and for the principle that all Americans have a right to make healthcare decisions without fear of government harassment.”

“When families fear their private health information could be exposed or used against them, they may delay or avoid seeking necessary medical care – putting children’s health and wellbeing at risk. The court’s decision protects not only the families who brought the case, but reinforces fundamental principles of medical privacy and limitations on government power that benefit all Americans,” said Jennifer Levi, Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights at GLAD Law. 

“Parents of transgender adolescents want what every parent wants: to ensure their children get the medical care they need to be healthy and thrive,” said Eve Hill, Partner at Brown, Goldstein & Levy. “This ruling affirms that the government cannot intrude into the exam room or second-guess the medical decisions families make with their doctors.”

The subpoena, issued in June 2025, demanded highly sensitive information including patient names, dates of birth, social security numbers, diagnoses, clinical assessments, and parental authorization forms. The court found this sweeping demand bore “no credible connection to an investigation of any statutory violation” and was “utterly unclear” in its purported purpose.