Ninth Circuit removes Oregon prison protections for transgender women
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated a preliminary injunction that required Oregon prison officials to begin placement reviews for transgender women with a presumption in favor of housing consistent with their gender identity. The injunction also required protections involving safe housing, privacy, searches, abuse reporting, and mental-health support.
The appellate court said the record showed individualized placement reviews and did not support the district court’s finding that Oregon used a default presumption of housing transgender women in men’s prisons. It also ordered the class decertified and sent the case back to the lower court.
The ruling removes court-ordered safeguards that addressed documented risks of violence, sexual abuse, forced exposure, and isolation for transgender women in custody. It is a decision about preliminary relief, not a final judgment on every underlying claim, but the mandate took effect immediately.
Read the Ninth Circuit opinion in S.D. v. Reese.