Last August 23, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a trial judge’s order that the Idaho Corrections Department provide gender affirmation surgery for a transgender inmate, Adree Edmo. The panel, composed of two circuit judges and a district judge all appointed by President Bill Clinton, found that prison officials’ denial of the procedure constituted “cruel and unusual punishment” in violation of the 8th… <Read More>
8th Amendment
5th Circuit Panel Rules Denial of Gender Confirmation Surgery for Transgender Inmate Does Not Violate 8th Amendment
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled by a vote of 2-1 on March 29 that the state of Texas did not violate the 8th Amendment right against cruel or unusual punishment by denying gender confirmation surgery to transgender inmate Vanessa Lynn Gibson. Gibson v. Collier, 2019 WL 1417271, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 9397. The dissent argued that the substantive legal question was not properly … <Read More>
California Federal Court Orders Sex-Reassignment Surgery “As Promptly As Possible”
For only the second time, a federal district judge has ordered state prison officials to provide sex-reassignment surgery (SRS) to a transgender inmate. On April 2, U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction in Norsworthy v. Beard, 2015 WL 1500971 (N.D. Cal.), ordering state officials to provide the procedure for Michelle-Lael Norsworthy “as promptly as possible” in light of her medical condition and the recommendations of expert witnesses.
The … <Read More>
4th Circuit Revives Transgender Inmates Suit for Sex Reassignment Surgery
A unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, ruled on January 28 that District Judge James C. Turk (Western District of Virginia) should not have dismissed an 8th Amendment complaint by Ophelia Azriel De’lonta, a Virginia state inmate who has been denied gender reassignment surgery by the Virginia Department of Corrections. The ruling may be the first by a federal appellate court to hold that an … <Read More>