Federal Judge Halts DOJ Subpoenas for Transgender Youth Medical Records

A federal judge in the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order that bars the Department of Justice (DOJ) from obtaining additional medical records of transgender minors from Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. The order also prevents the government from enforcing any grand-jury subpoena while pending motions are considered.

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Since early 2025, the DOJ has served administrative subpoenas to hospitals nationwide seeking patient files, clinician personnel records, and other documents tied to gender-affirming care for minors. After many administrative subpoenas were quashed, the agency shifted to criminal subpoenas issued by a Texas grand jury. NYU Langone Medical Center publicly disclosed one such subpoena, noting it was “one of several institutions” targeted. The Trump administration has framed transgender healthcare as “sex-rejecting procedures” and has stated its goal to end gender-affirming care for youth.

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• Department of Justice – issuer of the subpoenas; spokesperson asserted the agency would “use every legal and law enforcement tool available to protect innocent children from being mutilated under the guise of ‘care.’”

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• National Center for LGBTQ Rights – legal director Shannon Minter leads the challenge.

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• Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford – the California hospital subject to the subpoenas.

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• U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts – issued the emergency order.

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• Craig Konnoth, professor of health law at the University of Virginia School of Law, and Jennifer Levi, senior director at GLAD Law, have provided expert commentary.

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• Early 2025 – DOJ begins issuing administrative subpoenas.

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• Mid-2025 – Many administrative subpoenas are quashed; DOJ adopts criminal subpoenas via a Texas grand jury.

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• May 2026 – NYU Langone posts a criminal subpoena.

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• June 12 2026 – Six families file an emergency request; Judge Pitts grants a statewide temporary restraining order.

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• June 13 2026 – DOJ files renewed emergency relief; Judge Pitts issues a status-quo order preserving the injunction.

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The subpoena campaign has prompted several hospitals and clinics nationwide to suspend gender-affirming programs, citing legal and financial pressure. Families fear that disclosure of confidential records could expose minors to government scrutiny and deter providers from offering care. The judge’s order provides immediate relief, but the broader litigation remains unresolved.

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The DOJ maintains that its investigations aim to protect children, while the court emphasized the “serious risk of harm” to families if records were disclosed. Families and their attorneys hailed the injunction as a necessary safeguard pending further adjudication.

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Shannon Minter described the subpoenas as “pure harassment” intended to intimidate doctors and frighten parents. Craig Konnoth warned that the effort extends beyond a simple search and seizure, representing a governmental ability to target groups it disfavors. Jennifer Levi labeled the DOJ’s tactics “extraordinary measures” that misuse the secret grand-jury process.

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The DOJ has not disclosed the specific investigative basis for the subpoenas, and the number of institutions that have received criminal subpoenas remains unknown. No court-verified evidence indicates that any hospital has already turned over records.

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• “It is pure harassment. It's just an effort to frighten people, to intimidate doctors out of providing the care and to frighten parents and make them afraid that the federal government is going to seek them out, identify them and harm their families in some way,” — Shannon Minter, National Center for LGBTQ Rights

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• “A Justice Department spokesperson in a statement said "it will use every legal and law enforcement tool available to ?protect innocent children from being mutilated under the guise of 'care.” — DOJ spokesperson, Department of Justice

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• “shall not produce additional records” — Judge P. Casey Pitts

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• “shall not take further action to enforce any grand jury subpoena” — Judge P. Casey Pitts

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• “The federal government is engaging in extraordinary measures, using a secret grand jury process to try and pry into patients' medical records,” — Jennifer Levi, GLAD Law

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The families plan to file an amended complaint addressing the judge’s concerns, while the DOJ may appeal the injunction. Ongoing motions will determine whether the broader subpoena strategy can proceed, and the case could set precedent for the protection of medical privacy for transgender youth nationwide.

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