Judges on both coasts weigh transgender prisoners’ rights as Trump targets prison policies

Judges on both U.S. coasts will determine where transgender inmates are housed and what protections from discriminatory treatment they still enjoy. The cases are unfolding as transgender inmates across the nation argue that being housed in prisons inconsistent with their gender identity constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.The Washington state Supreme Court this week heard arguments from Amber Kim, a trans woman, who claims the state violated her constitutional rights by transferring her to a men’s prison. The transfer reversed a 2021 decision to move Kim from a men’s facility to a women’s prison after the state enacted a policy guaranteeing incarcerated people access to gender-affirming care, according to The Seattle Times. The state is now one of several under investigation by the Trump administration for housing transgender women in female corrections facilities.Related: Court rules Trump can’t move transgender women to men’s prisonsMeanwhile, a federal judge in Florida said a trial can proceed regarding the treatment of transgender inmates housed in men’s facilities. However, Chief U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor said the court won’t hear arguments over whether those inmates must have access to hormone therapy and will consider only social accommodations, such as haircuts and grooming standards, citing jurisdictional issues.Those developments come after a judge in Washington, D.C., this month said the federal Bureau of Prisons must continue providing gender dysphoria medication to transgender inmates, at least for now. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued an injunction blocking a Trump administration policy that would stop providing hormone therapy to adult inmates.The same D.C. judge also ruled this month that the Trump administration cannot move forward right now with plans to transfer 14 trans women into a men’s facility. He said that the inmates challenging the move would likely prevail with an argument that such a transfer would co