When was the last time a West Virginia case went to the Supreme Court?

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) announced Thursday that it would hear the appeal in the case of West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act, a rare happening for the small state.

West Virginia v. B.P.J. will only be the third West Virginia case to be heard in the Supreme Court in the last 100 years.

The case will decide if Title IX prevents states from designating boys’ and girls’ sports teams based on biological sex at birth. The case will determine if states can restrict transgender people from their preferred gender sports teams based on the case of B.P.J., a student at Bridgeport High School.

The last time the SCOTUS heard a West Virginia case was in 2022, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It questioned the EPA’s Clean Power Rule, which addressed carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal and natural-gas-fired power plants. The case questioned whether the EPA had the authority to set new emission standards for existing facilities. The court ruled with West Virginia and determined that the EPA had exceeded its authority under the Clean Power Rule.

Before that, a West Virginia case had not gone to the Supreme Court in nearly 80 years. West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette went to the Supreme Court in 1943. The free speech case determined that students cannot be required to salute the American flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance if it is contrary to their religious beliefs. The SCOTUS sided against the West Virginia Board of Education in the case.

Early in West Virginia’s statehood, the Civil Rights case of Strauder v. West Virginia was heard by the Supreme Court in 1880. It determined that it is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment to exclude a Black man from a jury because of his race. The court sided against West Virginia.

The SCOTUS normally hears about 70-80 cases per year. The West Virginia v. B.P.J. is expected to be argued in Washington, D.C. in October.