Supreme Court Sends Transgender Jail Case Back for Reconsideration

The Supreme Court vacated a lower-court ruling in Darlene Griffith’s case and sent it back to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for reconsideration in light of recent decisions on transgender-related policies. Griffith, a transgender woman, alleges that while detained at a Colorado county jail in 2020 she was improperly housed with male inmates, denied women’s clothing and toiletries, subjected to searches by male deputies, and sexually assaulted by a male inmate. The appeals court had allowed some claims to proceed, including challenges involving housing and strip-search practices, but had not finally ruled that the jail’s policies were unconstitutional. The sheriff and the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that its rulings upholding state restrictions in sports and medical care should inform the case; Griffith’s lawyers argued that prisons retain administrative flexibility regardless of the scrutiny applied to equal-protection claims. The Supreme Court’s order returns the case for further consideration and does not itself resolve the underlying claims.