FIRST ON FOX: The legal defense to "save women's sports" scored a big win in its Supreme Court battle over transgender athletes this week.

After an Idaho trans athlete tried to have the potential landmark SCOTUS case dropped, a federal judge struck down the attempt to dismiss it and ruled that the case should proceed.

U.S. District Judge David Nye, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, rejected former Boise State trans athlete Lindsay Hecox's motion to dismiss the case. The trans athlete started the legal battle in 2020, but tried to have it dismissed in September after the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case.

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Now Nye has denied Hecox's request.

Nye emphasized that after years of litigation, "[Idaho] has a fair right to have its arguments heard and adjudicated once and for all." And that, "[T]he Court feels {Hecox's} mootness argument is, as above, somewhat manipulative to avoid Supreme Court review and should not be endorsed."

The Little v. Hecox lawsuit was initially filed by Hecox in 2020, when the trans athlete wanted to join the women's cross-country team at Boise State, and had the state's law to prevent trans athletes from competing in women's sports blocked.

Hecox was joined by an anonymous biological female student, Jane Doe, who was concerned about the potential of being subjected to the sex dispute verification process. The challenge was successful, as a federal judge blocked Idaho's state law.

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023, before the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case back in July. Hecox then asked SCOTUS last month to drop the challenge, claiming the athlete "has therefore decided to permanently withdraw and refrain from playing any women's sports at BSU or in Idaho."

The defense team, led by Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Kristen Waggoner pushed back against Hecox's attempt to end the battle before it reaches the Supreme Court, arguing dismissal violated the agreed-upon stay.

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"From day one in office, defending this law has been a top priority because Idaho's daughters deserve fair competition based on biological reality. The district court has ruled that years of litigation, Idaho has earned the right to present our case to the nation's highest court. This decision keeps our lawsuit alive, and I won't stop until women and girls are safe to compete, participate, and excel in competitive sports," Labrador told Fox News Digital of Nye's decision.

Hecox's efforts to have the case dropped aren't completely over, as SCOTUS must still rule on whether the case is moot. But Labrador and his team believe Nye's ruling is a "good sign" for their side.

Ultimately, the defense in this case is looking for a bigger-picture outcome than simply whether Hecox can play women's sports. Labrador told Fox News Digital he is calling for the court to protect the rights of states to protect women's sports.

Labrador previously said he hopes for the Supreme Court to cast a decision with a wider impact than just letting one state carry out its own specific law on the issue. He wants a new national precedent. "I believe that that's what they're gonna do," Labrador previously told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

"I think they're going to have a big ruling on whether men can participate in women's sports, and more importantly, how to determine whether transgender individuals are protected by the federal constitution and state and federal laws."

Attorneys general from 27 states and the U.S. Territory of Guam have signed onto amicus briefs to support the defense in the upcoming SCOTUS case.

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Labrador's case is just one of two focused on the issue of trans athletes in women's sports that will be heard by the Supreme Court.

West Virginia, which enacted the "Save Women's Sports Act" in 2021, is appealing a lower-court ruling that allowed transgender athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson to compete on the school's cross-country and track teams. This past year, Pepper-Jackson qualified for the West Virginia girls high school state track meet, finishing third in the discus throw and eighth in the shot put in the Class AAA division.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Pepper-Jackson, who has been taking puberty-blocking medication, in an April 2024 ruling based on the Constitution's equal protection clause.

Federal judge rules in favor of allowing SCOTUS case over trans athletes to proceed after attempt to dismiss