Transgender inmate cannot transfer to female-only prison, judges rule [View all]

Source: New Jersey Monitor

A state appeals panel has sided with the state Department of Corrections in rejecting a transgender woman’s bid to transfer to a women’s prison from an all-gender facility where she was civilly committed for sex offender treatment.

The resident, identified only as S.G. in the Wednesday ruling, said her placement in a special treatment unit on the grounds of East Jersey State Prison in Avenel violates the state Law Against Discrimination. She applied in 2023 for a transfer to the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, the department denied her request in January 2024, and she appealed to the courts.

Judge Mark K. Chase, writing for a three-judge panel, agreed corrections officials treat S.G. differently — but not because of her gender identity or expression. The Department of Corrections is required by law to house sexually violent predators separately from people serving criminal sentences, and the special treatment unit is the system’s only treatment facility for them, he noted.

“This classification is not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. It serves the statutory purpose — protection of society and provision of treatment,” Chase wrote. “The LAD prohibits exclusion and indignity yet does not compel sex-segregated facilities for civilly committed persons.”

Read more: https://newjerseymonitor.com/briefs/trasngeder-woman-female-prison-judges-ruling/