NEWS: 9th Circuit revives DOJ subpoena for transgender kids' medical records A federal appeals court just handed DOJ a win in its investigation of a telehealth clinic that prescribes gender-transition treatment, including to minors. QueerDoc, a Washington-based practice, got a HIPAA subpoena from DOJ demanding 15 categories of records: personnel files, billing data, communications with drug manufacturers, and patient medical records and consent forms. DOJ has argued that the clinic's webpages promoting off-label puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones count as unlawful drug "labeling" under the FDCA's misbranding provisions. A district judge quashed the subpoena in its entirety, finding the DOJ issued it to advance the administration's declared goal of ending gender-transition treatment for minors. Today the Ninth Circuit reversed, 2-1, putting the subpoena back in play. Judge Bea, writing for the majority, asserted that the Executive Branch's public opposition to gender-transition treatment "is insufficient to show that an agency within the Executive Branch issued an otherwise permissible HIPAA subpoena in bad faith." Proving improper purpose takes specific evidence, not inferences from policy statements, Bea asserted. Officials get a presumption of regularity and setting enforcement priorities is the president's job. Judge Paez offered a vigorous dissent. DOJ "submitted essentially nothing" defending the subpoena, he wrote, while "there is a mountain of evidence that corroborates that DOJ used the threat of criminal investigation to pressure health care providers to stop offering gender-affirming care." He warned the majority's rule turns judicial review into a formality whenever an administration dresses a political campaign in statutory clothing. The case now goes back to the district court, which still has to decide whether individual requests are overbroad or unduly burdensome. The demand for patient records is the one to watch.