APA has a long history of informing the courts of the psychological science relating to critically important societal issues and enhancing the public’s understanding of our field.
Over nearly half a century, APA has presented scientific evidence in more than 200 state and federal court cases. These cases have brought forth the best research in such areas as the rights of people with mental disabilities, affirmative action, same-sex marriage and false confessions, to name just a few. In 2019, APA filed amicus briefs on the lack of evidence for sexual orientation conversion therapy, the reliability of eyewitness testimony and the importance of an insanity defense.
And this fall, APA filed an amicus brief opposing LGBTQ employment discrimination. In 2013, Aimee Stephens was fired from her job at a Detroit funeral home after coming out at work as a transgender woman. That same year, Gerald Bostock was fired from his job as a child welfare services coordinator in Clayton County, Georgia, after he began playing in a gay softball league. And in 2010, Donald Zarda was fired from his job as a skydiving instructor after he told a customer he was gay.
APA spoke up for the rights of Stephens, Bostock, Zarda and other LGBTQ employees by filing an amicus brief in support of the three employees’ cases, which have come together before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the brief, APA presented evidence from psychological research that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is discrimination based on sex—because LGBTQ people are often stigmatized for not conforming to traditional sex-role stereotypes—and argued that such discrimination is illegal in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The decision is pending. We will be watching.
In this issue of the Monitor, we profile 10 of the most consequential and far-reaching of APA’s amicus briefs (see "Informing the courts with the best research"). I hope that you will enjoy learning about them and take pride in the work that your fellow psychologists are doing in alignment not only with APA’s strategic priorities but with a fairer and more just society, grounded in psychological science.
