Federal court vacates ruling against people with HIV serving in the military & agrees to rehear case - LGBTQ Nation

A federal appeals court reversed an earlier ruling that upheld the Department of Defense’s ability to bar HIV-positive troops from military service. In February, a three-judge panel agreed with the Department of Defense, allowing the ban to proceed after deferring to arguments about logistical and financial burdens. A May 18 order vacated the February decision and scheduled rehearing before the full court. Oral arguments are set for September. The case includes plaintiffs represented by Lambda Legal, including Isaiah Wilkins, who was removed from the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School after testing positive for HIV. Legal representatives said the rehearing resets the slate and that prior rulings recognize that well-managed HIV does not prevent safe, capable service.

"In February, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed with the Department of Defense (DOD) that it could bar HIV-positive troops from military service. Three Republican-appointed judges deferred to DOD in its argument that those members would be a logistical and financial burden on the military. The panel reversed a lower court ruling overturning the ban and allowed it to go ahead."

"But in an order issued on May 18, the court reversed itself, saying it would rehear the case before the full panel of judges at the Richmond-based court. "On a poll of the court requested by a judge, the majority of judges in active service and not disqualified voted to grant the petition for rehearing en banc," the order reads. It vacated the February decision. Oral arguments are scheduled for September."

"Three plaintiffs are represented by Lambda Legal in the case, including Isaiah Wilkins, a former Army reservist accepted into the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School and then removed after he tested positive for HIV. "The decision came in February, and it felt like the end of the line," Wilkins shared in a statement. "But Peter and Scott saw one last chance, however remote, to turn things around - and we did. I couldn't be more thrilled to still have a chance at serving my country.""

"Attorney Scott Schoettes said in a statement that the rehearing "wipes the slate clean." "Every other legal ruling across seven plus years of litigation has acknowledged that the evidentiary record demonstrates that people living with well-managed HIV can perform in any capacity as capably and safely as anyone else," attorne"

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