DENVER — A U.S. court of appeals has ruled in favor of a transgender woman who claims her constitutional rights were violated while she was detained at the El Paso County Detention Center and housed with male inmates.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in favor Darlene Griffith, who filed suit in 2020 on claims and mistreatment and discrimination.
Griffith has been living as a transgender woman for 20 years, according to CPR News.
The woman, who had already been through sex reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy asked to be placed with other women in the jail, but instead, "El Paso County decided to treat her as though she's a man, and subjected her to a really gross and invasive strip search by a male deputy," according to Andy McNulty, a civil rights attorney for Newman | McNulty, LLC, who worked on the case.
During the strip search, Griffith was allegedly told to "spread her sexy cheeks," her lawyer told Denver7, adding she was repeatedly sexually harassed and assaulted, misgendered, subjected to what he described as "horrible, horrible conditions."
A previous court decision ruled against her, but McNuly said he is pleased with the appeals courts decision.
“It's a really broad decision that says discrimination against transgender folks violates the Constitution. It applies to inmates, but it also applies in other contexts, including in schools, in workplaces, everywhere that you would encounter a transgender person — their rights are protected by this decision,” McNulty said.
McNulty explained the ruling by the appeals court directly contradicts a recent Trump administration executive order that mandated transgender inmates be placed in housing that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
Earlier this month, a federal judge has blocked the administration from enforcing a prison policy against three transgender women that would have moved them from a women’s federal prison facility to a men’s facility.
“I think that this case sets a strong precedent here in Colorado and in the other states in the 10th Circuit that this type of discrimination is illegal," said McNulty. "This case will just bolster those other cases in holding that the Constitution prohibits discrimination against transgender folks, just like it prohibits discrimination against everyone."
McNulty said the decision could be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Judge Timothy Tymkovich dissented and disagreed with the Equal Protection Clause claim.
According to CPR News, President George W. Bush appointed appointed Tymkovich and he was considered for the U.S. Supreme Court by Donald Trump in his first term.
If the decision stands on review by either the full 10th Circuit Court or the U.S. Supreme Court, Griffith would then go back to U.S. District Court in Colorado for trial on her claims of discrimination and mistreatment, CPR reported.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.
