Otto v. City of Boca Raton, Florida

981 F.3d 854 (2021)

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Otto v. City of Boca Raton, Florida

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
981 F.3d 854 (2021)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD

Facts

The City of Boca Raton, Florida (Boca Raton) (defendant) passed an ordinance prohibiting therapists from engaging in sexual-orientation-change efforts (SOCE), also called conversion therapy, which was designed to alter a patient’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The ordinance applied only to minors and explicitly covered talk-only SOCE. The ordinance did not bar therapists from providing supportive therapy to transgender patients undergoing a gender-transitioning process. Robert Otto (plaintiff), a licensed therapist who regularly employed SOCE in his practice, sued Boca Raton and moved for a preliminary injunction, arguing that the ordinance was an impermissible content-based restriction and violated his First Amendment rights. Boca Raton countered, arguing that the ordinance was permissible because (1) it was intended to protect minors from the harmful effects of SOCE and (2) it targeted speech that was incidental to professional conduct or that could be reclassified as professional conduct, meaning that the ordinance invoked less stringent First Amendment protection than ordinances targeting regular speech. Boca Raton submitted numerous reports from national and international medical organizations, all of which stated that SOCE placed minors at significant risk of anxiety, depression, and suicide. However, no recent, rigorous, prospective SOCE research was provided. The district court denied Otto’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Otto appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Grant, J.)

Dissent (Martin, J.)

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