Judge Timothy Corrigan took the lead in a federal trial Tuesday, questioning witnesses and lawyers in an effort to determine if St. Johns County Public Schools violated the rights of a transgender teen by refusing to let the student use the boys bathroom.

Drew Adams, a 17-year-old Nease High School student, sued the school district earlier this year. In his freshman year, Drew came out as a transgender boy and asked that he be treated like any other boy. He changed his clothes and his hair, he underwent surgery and began hormone treatment, and for about six weeks, he used the boys bathroom. But then the school district told him he would have to start using a gender-neutral bathroom or the girls room.

In the trial’s second day, Drew’s team of lawyers finished their case by questioning his father and two administrators from Broward County Public Schools, which has a policy of allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their gender identity.

Corrigan chided Drew’s lawyers for misplacing exhibits, and he asked the district’s lawyers why the district was enforcing an unwritten policy. "So it’s a policy that’s adopted by a committee. It’s never been adopted by the school board. It’s never been adopted by the school district. Yet it’s being enforced to the point of federal litigation?"

The school district began its defense by calling on administrators to explain why they thought their policy promoted public safety. The district argues that its policies don’t discriminate against transgender students by requiring them to use the bathroom of the sex they were assigned at birth or a gender-neutral restroom.

Although both sides have large teams of lawyers — about 20 lawyers total in the courtroom — Judge Corrigan often asked the most incisive questions. Because there’s no jury in the trial, Corrigan is able to take a more hands-on approach, and he often does, letting lawyers know when he’s uninterested in the questions they’re asking and sometimes taking over questioning himself.

That has led to some interesting exchanges.

Sallyanne Smith, who served as the district’s director of student services and was responsible for recommending policies about transgender issues to the district before retiring last year, said she was concerned that allowing transgender students into the bathroom of their gender identities could lead to privacy or safety issues. She also testified that she extensively researched what had occurred at other school districts.

Corrigan repeatedly asked her if she was aware of any situation in any school district where a transgender student was involved in any bathroom incident. She said she wasn’t.

When she said she was worried about whether Drew would be bullied or made fun of in a boys bathroom, Corrigan asked her about a hypothetical situation involving a transgender girl who had transitioned and now had long hair, developed breasts and a feminine appearance. "Do you perceive safety or privacy issues when that individual who was born a boy goes into the boys room?" he asked.

"Yes," Smith admitted. "That’s why we would recommend the gender-neutral bathroom."

At another point, she explained that "there’s always safety concerns when you’re dealing with restrooms in schools. They’re not supervised. There are no cameras in there. Kids will be kids. In my mind, it was just adding another element of a safety issue for the transgender student or any other child in there."

When the district’s own attorney asked her what LGBTQ stood for, Smith struggled to remember the words lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning.

Later, Corrigan asked Cathy Mittelstadt, the district’s deputy superintendent for operation, a similar hypothetical scenario, but she said she would have no safety concerns with transgender students using the bathroom of their biological sex.

"Do you consider Mr. Adams to be a girl or a boy?" Corrigan asked Mittelstadt.

"He is transitioning as a boy," she said, "but biologically he is still a female."

The two administrators from Broward County who Drew’s lawyers called on talked about how their policy of letting transgender students use the bathroom of their gender identity has not led to any issues.

As the day was ending, St. Johns County Schools Superintendent Tim Forson walked past Smith. "It’s an interesting world, isn’t it?" he said before leaving the courtroom.