Griffith v. El Paso County, et al. (Amicus)

Darlene Griffith is a transgender woman. But when she was booked into the El Paso County Jail, Defendants refused to treat her like other women. Ms. Griffith was denied the ability to dress in accordance with her gender identity and subjected to repeated harassment and abuse by both guards and other inmates alike.  She filed a lawsuit against the County Jail based on the abusive treatment she experienced, as well as Defendants’ refusal to treat her like other women. The district court determined that it was bound by prior Tenth Circuit case law in which the court of appeals held a transgender plaintiff is “not a member of a protected class for purposes of an equal protection claim” and dismissed Ms. Griffith's complaint.  Ms. Griffith appealed the case to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the ACLU of Colorado submitted an amicus brief in support of Ms. Griffith, arguing that heightened scrutiny applies to all sex-based classifications, that classifications based on transgender status are necessarily sex-based classifications, and asked the court to hold that discrimination based on transgender status triggers heightened scrutiny both as a form of sex discrimination. Oral argument was heard in this case on March 19, 2024.