Transgender prison inmates in Illinois will be allowed to transition to their identifying gender and under supervision of trained medical and mental health professionals, a federal court has ruled.
The ruling is the first time in the nation a correctional agency has been directed to provide wide ranging relief for transgender inmates who have gender dysphoria, which is defined as a conflict between an individual's biological sex and how that person identifies.
Following the ruling, and barring an appeal, the Illinois Department of Corrections will now have to allow an inmate to both medically and socially transition, including providing access to hormone treatment and to products generally known to be linked to their gender.
Jordan Heinz
| Kirkland Ellis
It also orders the standing down of the current transgender committee, which, plaintiffs' attorneys' argued, was made up of individuals that do not have the required medical or mental health background to assess those issues facing transgender inmates.
U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Rosentengal, of the Southern District of Illinois, delivered judgment in a class action filed in February 2018 by several inmates, all of whom were biologically born male but identify as female.
The core of the plaintiffs' argument was that state policies and procedures violated their Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment.
Lead plaintiff Janiah Monroe, still identified as Andre Paterson in prison records, was first incarcerated at age 16 and is serving a decades-long sentence for second-degree murder of a cellmate, attempted murder of two people, aggravated battery and attempted aggravated arson. Her first parole date is 2051 and discharge date of March 2054.
Monroe is currently being held in a female facility, Logan Correctional Center, after a successful individual action to force a transfer.
Attorney Jordan Heinz, of the firm of Kirkland Ellis in Chicago, who was among those representing the plaintiffs, said this was not an order to transfer all transgender individuals, whether male or female, to a particular facility.
"And that is what we expected," Heinz told the Cook County Record, adding that this was not the suit's purpose as it is a matter for the individual and their alignment stage.
Heinz said: "It requires the IDOC to allow the prisoners to socially transition, after which the transfer would take place based on the opinion of a certified doctor who knows best and can make that decision."
Crucially, Heinz said, the opinion directs the system to provide relief for all transgender prisoners in the state. The exact number is unknown, but believed to be between 100 and 200 inmates.
"This is not a single plaintiff, this is a class action. It is intended to force a policy change," Heinz said.
The successful action addressed key arguments made by the plaintiffs over inadequate health treatment and the ability to socially transition, which plaintiffs said is important to combat the medical and mental affects of gender dysphoria.