(COLORADO SPRINGS) — An appeals court has ruled the El Paso County Jail violated the United States Constitution by housing a transgender woman with male inmates. The action also goes against a Trump executive order signed last month declaring there are only two sexes.
The lawyers representing the trans woman behind the lawsuit said this is a huge victory for the transgender community. They said this is the first decision of its kind made by the circuit court of appeals in the country.
“Not only did my client win rights for herself, she stood up for every single transgender inmate’s rights in this entire state and every transgender individual’s rights in the state,” said Andy McNulty, lawyer of Darlene Griffith.
Darlene Griffith has identified as a transgender woman for 20 years, and now her lawyers say she is making history.
“It’s the first Circuit Court of Appeals in the country to hold that transgender inmates can’t be classified in this way,” said McNulty.
Griffith filed a civil rights lawsuit concerning her forced confinement with men at the El Paso County Jail in 2020. The ruling this week reversed an El Paso County court decision dismissing her claims of discrimination.
“The court not only said that transgender individuals who are incarcerated have rights, it said that any discrimination against transgender individuals is sex based discrimination and unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment,” said McNulty.
Griffith alleges she faced numerous instances of sexual assault, including when she was not given a female to preform her cavity search. During that search, she was sexually assaulted.
“It makes sense because if you’re a woman, being strip-searched by a man is a really invasive and horrifying thing to happen, but in the El Paso County Jail, their idea was that it doesn’t matter if you’re a transgender woman, you’ll be searched by a man,” said McNulty.
Griffith also claims she was denied women’s underwear and could not buy lipstick available to women through the commissary.
“She faced being called slurs by guards and other inmates, she faced being constantly mis-gendered,” said McNulty.
FOX21 News reached out the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office for a statement: “We are aware of the ruling and thankful that the tenth circuit affirmed the dismissal of several of Ms. Griffith’s claims. The Sheriff’s Office will not comment further on this matter at this time because litigation remains pending.”
“El Paso County was pretty unapologetic about the way that they treat transgender inmates in their jail,” said McNulty.
Griffith’s lawyer said the ruling could have a ripple effect on how our state houses transgender inmates in jails. If the decision stands, Griffith will go back to U.S. District Court in Colorado for a trial on her claims of discrimination and mistreatment.
