Update: Attorneys for Sunday Hinton were notified Friday morning that she will be moved to a women’s unit in the D.C. Jail’s Central Treatment Facility, according to a press release. Hinton’s lawyers filed a reply brief Thursday arguing that Department of Correction officials misrepresented Hinton’s preference to be housed in a women’s unit to the court and public.

The class-action lawsuit will proceed as Hinton’s lawyers seek to represent other transgender inmates at the facility facing similar issues. Scott Michelman of the ACLU-DC said the organization knows of at least one other individual at the facility who was unaware of DOC’s Transgender Housing Committee, which lets inmates request housing that aligns with their gender identity. The ACLU-DC is seeking broader policy changes to ensure all inmates at the jail have an opportunity to be heard by the committee.

“We’re afraid Ms. Hinton is just the tip of the iceberg,” Michelman said in the press release.

The next hearing is scheduled for May 18 at noon.

Original: A transgender woman housed at the D.C. Jail has filed a class action against the city, saying D.C.’s Department of Corrections has incarcerated her in the men’s unit in violation of her rights.

The suit was filed Tuesday by the ACLU of D.C. and the District’s Public Defender Service on behalf of inmate Sunday Hinton and any other transgender individuals incarcerated in housing units that don’t comport with their gender identity. Hinton is seeking an immediate transfer to a women’s unit out of fear for her safety, in addition to policy changes within the DOC.

In a statement, a spokesperson for DOC says the department “is sensitive to Ms. Hinton’s concerns and will continue to ensure that its residents’ needs are met.”

Hinton has been held in pretrial custody for more than two weeks on allegations of unarmed burglary with the intent to steal $20, the lawsuit says. When she entered the D.C. Jail on April 26, she was automatically sent to a men’s housing facility. That’s consistent with DOC’s written policy, which bases housing assignments on individuals’ anatomy by default. But assignments can be changed with a recommendation from the DOC’s Transgender Housing Committee (THC) and approval from the warden, according to the complaint.

The problem is the committee hasn’t met since Jan. 2020, the suit says, meaning transgender individuals in DOC custody “have been assigned housing based solely on their anatomy.” It’s also unclear whether the committee is empowered to override DOC’s housing decisions in the first place.

When Hinton’s public defender asked for her to be moved to a women’s unit, the suit says, DOC refused, saying her only other option was to enter protective custody, which is similar to solitary confinement.

“In effect, DOC’s policy subjects Ms. Hinton and all transgender individuals in their custody to an impossible choice: be held in a unit inconsistent with their gender identity, or be held in solitary confinement,” the ACLU says in a statement.

A DOC spokesperson offers a different account, saying Hinton was placed into single-occupancy quarantine for 14 days based on the agency’s COVID-19 protocols. “Once that quarantine ends, Ms. Hinton will go before the Transgender Housing Committee to determine her housing based on safety needs, housing availability, and gender identity.”

The plaintiffs call the department’s anatomy-based housing policy both unconstitutional and a violation of D.C.’s Human Rights Act. In addition to relocation to a women’s unit, Hinton is seeking a court order that would require DOC to base housing decisions on residents’ gender identity by default, and provide a THC hearing within 72 hours of a transgender individual’s intake.

Representatives for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Attorney General Karl Racine, and D.C.’s Department of Corrections did not immediately return requests for comment.

The ACLU and the Public Defender Service estimate there are roughly 40 to 60 transgender people currently in DOC custody, “with the vast majority, if not all of them, housed based on their sexual anatomy rather than their gender identity.”

Christian Zapata contributed reporting

This story was updated to include a statement from D.C.’s Department of Corrections.