Consumer Law
A Transgender Woman Is Suing Washington D.C. After the Department of Corrections Housed Her in an All-Male Unit
A transgender woman is suing the District of Columbia after its Department of Corrections placed her in a men’s jail unit despite her telling officials she identifies as a woman, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Sunday Hinton was placed into DOC custody on April 26 on accusations of “unarmed burglary with the intent to steal twenty dollars,” the lawsuit says. When Hinton’s public defender asked for her to be moved to a women’s unit, the DOC gave Hinton the option of going to a men’s unit or “protective custody,” within a men’s unit, which the American Civil Liberties Union of DC says is essentially solitary confinement.
A DOC policy document states that “For the safety, security and order of the facility, the DOC classifies and houses male and female offenders in separate housing units. DOC shall classify an inmate who has male genitals as a male and one who has female genitals as a female, unless otherwise recommended by the Transgender Housing Committee and approved in accordance with this policy.”
