Attorneys for Transgender Student Ask for New Judge

A transgender student who sued after being barred from using the boys' bathrooms at his Virginia high school is asking a federal appeals court to replace the judge who denied his request for a preliminary injunction.

Sixteen-year-old Gavin Grimm's lawyers say U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar has made statements suggesting he may be suspicious of modern medical science regarding gender identity. They asked for a new judge in a brief filed Wednesday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lawyers say that Doumar has repeatedly referred to Grimm's "mental disorder" and that the judge has suggested they are seeking publicity.

Grimm's attorneys want the appeals court to reverse Doumar's preliminary injunction ruling and his dismissal of a discrimination claim. Doumar has not yet ruled on an equal protection claim.