In a tangled, three-year-long case that includes accusations of “judge shopping,” potential perjury, Donald Trump’s crusade against transgender rights, and the recusal of several federal judges in Alabama, the headline this week was straightforward: a trans LGBTQ+ rights lawyer has been indicted for lying.

Carl Charles, an attorney at Lambda Legal, was charged in an indictment unsealed on Monday in federal court in Montgomery, Alabama, months after a judge appointed by Trump took the rare step of sanctioning him and referring him for criminal prosecution, Reuters reports.

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The case stems from Lambda Legal’s challenge to Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth in 2022. Charles and two other lawyers were earlier accused of “judge shopping” in the case: they allegedly dropped the case after learning they’d earned a “bad draw” among Alabama’s Middle District judges, and then refiled in hopes of arguing before a more sympathetic court.

“Judge shopping” is a common practice among both liberal and conservative attorneys anxious to have their cases heard in the most agreeable forum.

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But the judge, allegedly spurned by Charles and his colleagues, took the rare move of calling out the attorneys and asking for an inquiry into their actions.

The Trump appointee, U.S. District Judge Liles Burke, said the lawyers tried to “game the system” by dropping the two cases they filed in 2022 when they were assigned to him, and then mounting a new legal challenge in a different federal district court in Alabama.

A three-judge panel then investigated whether the lawyers engaged in misconduct by attempting to circumvent the courts’ random draw procedures.

It was testimony in that proceeding that earned Charles’ indictment by the Montgomery grand jury.

Prosecutors alleged Charles lied to the three-judge panel when asked “whether he called any judge’s chambers about the assignment of the case,” according to an appeal Lambda Legal has filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, reported by Law Dork. Later in the same testimony, a question about his phone number “jogged Charles’ memory,” and he “corrected his erroneous testimony and apologized to the Panel.”

That wasn’t enough for Judge Burke, who, based on the panel’s findings, sanctioned three lawyers in the case — out of a remarkable eleven he’d originally threatened — and referred the trans lawyer alone for a criminal inquiry.

The indictment was secured as Trump’s Justice Department prosecutes his anti-trans agenda nationwide, including a push to investigate anyone associated with providing gender-affirming care for trans youth.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed S.B. 184 into law in 2022, making it a felony to provide medical care like puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery to trans youth under the age of 19.

Charles, who worked in Joe Biden’s Justice Department, pleaded not guilty on Monday to making a false statement before a court.  Lambda Legal called the federal indictment “unjustified” and “an outrageous act of governmental overreach.”

“Lambda Legal rejects the notion that the U.S. government can punish lawyers and law firms for exercising their First Amendment rights by speaking up on behalf of causes to which government officials object,” the organization said in a statement.

“For more than three years, our colleague, Carl Charles, has been subjected to unprecedented and abusive judicial proceedings, smearing his character and undermining his role in fighting for some of the most vulnerable people in society. We fundamentally disagree with the characterization of the events that underpin this indictment, which ignores the fact that the routine phone call at issue was acknowledged by the court to be entirely legal and proper.”

“We unequivocally stand behind Carl and all of our attorneys, who adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards every day in pursuit of our mission to advance and defend the rights of LGBTQ+ people.” 

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