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The Department of Justice has dropped its lawsuit alleging Utah’s Department of Corrections discriminated against an incarcerated transgender woman, Deseret News reports.
The lawsuit was filed on April 2, 2024. It alleged an unnamed transgender inmate in Utah was denied gender-affirming care and that the state failed to make reasonable accommodations regarding housing, pat-down procedures, and the purchase of gender-affirming clothing such as bras and blouses in the prison commissary. While in custody, the woman self-castrated herself.
The DOJ confirmed to Deseret News that the inmate withdrew her complaint on January 29 and that the case was officially dismissed on January 31.
“I am grateful for the decision by the new leadership at the Department of Justice to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit against the state of Utah and the Utah Department of Corrections,” Utah’s Attorney General Derek Brown said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration.”
Related: DOJ sues Utah for discriminating against incarcerated trans woman who self-castrated
Before filing the lawsuit in April, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division had filed a statement of interest stating gender dysphoria can be a covered disability under the ADA.
“People with gender dysphoria, including those held in jails and prisons, are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act and are entitled to equal access to medical care just like anyone else with a disability,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a news release at the time.
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From the first day of his second administration, Trump has made extensive use of executive orders to target the transgender community. One of the first he signed, entitled the "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” defined sex as strictly male or female based on the “immutable biological reality of sex” characteristics at birth.
Brown spoke of the DOJ’s decision to dismiss the case on a recent episode of the podcast Inside Sources with Adam Gardiner and Rusty Cannon. Brown again gave credit to Pres. Donald Trump.
“We now have an administration, frankly, that’s willing to talk with us,” Brown said on the podcast.
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