After three plaintiffs sought to intervene in Texas v. United States, Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas ordered the claims to be severed and removed to a new civil action. Thus, this case was brought on 02/03/2017. The plaintiffs were cisgender women incarcerated in Texas federal prisons. They alleged that their First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were violated when transgender female prisoners were housed in the same single-sex facilities as the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs also alleged that being housed with transgender prisoners violated their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000bb-4 et seq.). The plaintiffs were represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom. They sought a declaratory judgment, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, punitive damages, and attorney's fees. The named defendants were the United States of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the Acting Director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, and both of the Wardens of the prisons where the plaintiffs were held.

The plaintiffs filed second and third amended complaints on March 2, 2017 and May 12, 2017, respectively. The third amended complaint included four plaintiffs alleging the same constitutional violations and seeking the same relief. On June 26, 2017, the plaintiffs also filed a motion for preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs asked the Court to enjoin the defendants from housing transgender women in the same facilities as the plaintiffs.

The parties began to engage in settlement negotiations in September 2017, but failed to reach an agreement. Around the same time, a transgender woman incarcerated at the same facility in question moved to intervene in the action. She alleged that the plaintiffs' complaints were false and driven by anti-transgender biases and prejudices.

On May 11, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice promulgated revisions to the Transgender Offender Manual for the Bureau of Prisons. In light of the revisions, the plaintiffs withdrew their motion for a preliminary injunction. The court also ordered the plaintiffs to file a new complaint to specify the claims that would proceed after the revisions.

On July 11, 2018, three female plaintiffs alleged similar claims as had been alleged in prior complaints; namely, that the housing of transgender female prisoners violated the plaintiffs' right to bodily privacy and endangered their physical and mental health.

The plaintiffs filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's claims on September 10, 2018. The remaining plaintiff and two intervenors initially opposed the motion and tried to proceed with their claims, filing a motion to certify a proposed class of "all female inmates who have been housed or otherwise situated with genetically-males inmates identifying as female." The plaintiff was eventually released and, as such, did not oppose the motion to dismiss. On April 12, 2019, Judge O'Connor dismissed the case with prejudice.

Justin Hill - 01/17/2021


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