NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans has voted 2-1 against honoring a transgender woman's request to be referred to with feminine pronouns. Judge Kyle Duncan wrote for the majority on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel. He said no legal authority requires the court to use feminine pronouns at a defendant's request. In dissent, Judge James Dennis said Duncan's opinion "creates a controversy where there is none." Dennis said many courts honor such requests out of respect for the dignity of the people making them.

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