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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO, WESTERN DIVISION 

STEPHANIE LEIGH WHITAKER, 

et al. 

 

 Plaintiffs, 

v. 

JUDGE JOSEPH W. KIRBY, 

 

 Defendant. 

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CIVIL COMPLAINT 

Case No. 1:18-cv-00540-WOB 

JUDGE WILLIAM O. BERTELSMAN 

MOTION FOR SPEEDY TRIAL OF DECLARATORY JUDGMENT ACTION 

Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 57, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court set a 

speedy trial in this declaratory judgment action, as Plaintiffs may suffer irreparable harm 

if the relief sought in this action is not obtained on an expedited basis. This Court 

previously granted Plaintiff’s motion to expedite, but a trial date has not yet been set. 

Doc. 12, PAGEID #: 90. Therefore, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court schedule 

an evidentiary hearing and bench trial to take place within 21 days after Defendant files 

his Reply in Support of Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. 

Plaintiffs further request that the Court either deny Defendants’ motion to dismiss 

on the papers in advance of the speedy trial, or alternatively, move to defer any hearing 

on that motion until the time of the speedy trial pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(i). See also 

Serras v. First Tennessee Bank National Association, 875 F.2d 1212, 1213, 1216 (6th Cir.1989); 

Sterling v. Velsicol Chem. Corp., 855 F.2d 1188, 1195 (6th Cir. 1988). Scheduling a separate 

preliminary hearing on Defendant’s motion to dismiss would serve only to delay a 

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hearing on the merits in this matter, exposing Plaintiffs to further risk of serious and 

irreparable harm. This Motion is supported by the Declaration of Linda Hawkins, PhD, 

MSEd, LPC (“Hawkins Decl.”). 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 57 provides that this Court “may order a speedy 

hearing of a declaratory-judgment action.” See also United States v. Stein, 452 F.Supp.2d 

230, 270 (S.D.N.Y. 2006). Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm without a prompt hearing 

or trial. Unlike in most Section 1983 cases, preliminary injunctive relief is not available 

in this action, so a speedy trial is the only procedure available to prevent or mitigate those 

serious harms. Linda Hawkins, the founder and co-director of the Gender and Sexuality 

Development Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has provided medical 

care for more than 1,000 transgender patients and testified that Plaintiffs may suffer 

significant harm if forced to delay the resolution of this matter. She states in her 

Declaration: 

Obtaining legal recognition of a young person’s new name is a 

critical part of social transition. A recent study found that permitting 

transgender youth to adopt a new name that reflects their gender 

identity substantially reduces their risk of depression and 

suicidality. 

. . . 

Being able to control when and whether to disclose one’s 

transgender status is crucial for the safety, health and wellbeing of 

transgender youth. Having identity documents that match who they 

are affords transgender youth the ability to make those important 

and personal decisions. 

 

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Hawkins Decl. ¶ 12 (citing Stephen Russell, et al., Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced 

Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth, 

Journal of Adolescent Health (2018)); ¶ 23. 

A legal name change is essential to the social transition process because “the longer 

a transgender minor must wait to obtain a legal name change, the greater the 

psychological and social harm that is likely to result.” Hawkins Decl. ¶22. Obtaining a 

legal name change is necessary for transgender people to obtain passports that reflect 

their gender identity and to apply for colleges and universities, including financial aid 

applications, without having to suffer the embarrassment, invasion of privacy and risk of 

potential discrimination caused by having a legal name that does not reflect the minor’s 

actual identity. Hawkins Decl. ¶ 17. Hawkins further stated that it is “psychologically 

damaging for a transgender youth to be treated differently than other youth when 

seeking a legal name change,” especially when “the validity of their gender identity is 

questioned by an adult in a position of authority.” Hawkins Decl. ¶ 21. 

The harm to John Doe is particularly time-sensitive as he is preparing to apply to 

college, application deadlines begin on November 1, 2018. Absent a resolution of this 

matter, Defendant’s discriminatory treatment of name change applications filed on behalf 

of transgender minors will force John Doe to reveal his transgender status on his 

applications and deny John the opportunity to attend a college or university where other 

do not know his transgender status. Either circumstance exposes him to further 

discrimination and psychological harm. 

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Further, Plaintiffs are not aware of any disputed issues of fact of the sort that 

require extensive discovery or evidentiary development, and a speedy trial will terminate 

the controversy between the parties.

CONCLUSION 

For these reasons, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court hold a trial to take 

place within 21 days after the Defendant files his Reply in Support of Defendant’s Motion 

to Dismiss. 

Plaintiffs further request that the Court either deny on Defendant’s pending 

motion to dismiss in advance of the trial without scheduling a separate hearing, or 

alternatively, have a consolidated hearing on that motion with the trial on the merits. 

Scheduling a separate preliminary hearing on Defendant’s motion to dismiss would 

serve only to delay a hearing on the merits in this matter, exposing Plaintiffs to further 

risk of serious and irreparable harm. 

Respectfully submitted, 

 

 /s/ Joshua R Langdon 

Joshua R. Langdon, Ohio Bar #90956 

Josh Langdon, LLC 

810 Sycamore Street, Fl. 2 

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 

Phone: (513) 246-1400 

Fax: (513) 263-9000 

E-mail: josh@joshlangdon.com 

Shannon Minter* 

Christopher Stoll* 

Asaf Orr* 

National Center for Lesbian Rights 

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870 Market Street, Suite 370 

San Francisco, CA 94102 

Phone: (415) 392-6257 

Fax: (415) 392-8442 

sminter@nclrights.org

cstoll@nclrights.org

aorr@nclrights.org

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

* pro hac vice pending 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I, Joshua Langdon, Esq., do hereby certify that on this 11th day of September, 

2018, I caused true and correct copies of the foregoing to be filed via the Court’s 

CM/ECF system, causing service on all counsel of record. 

/s/ Joshua R Langdon 

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