RBGG’s Sandy Rosen and Aaron Fischer authored an article that appeared in the Daily Journal entitled “Rights of Transgender Prisoners.”
According to the article, “In August, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument in the case of Michelle-Lael Norsworthy, a California transgender prisoner seeking sex-reassignment surgery (SRS). Norsworthy v. Beard, 14- 00695 (N.D. Cal.). The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) psychologist assigned to her determined that this surgery is a “clinical and medical necessity for her health and well-being,” but the state has refused to provide it. Northern District Judge Jon S. Tigar issued a preliminary injunction, directing CDCR to provide the surgery to her as promptly as possible.”
The article goes on to discuss the case and concludes, “As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in Brown v. Plata, 131 S. Ct. 1910 (2011): ‘A prison that deprives prisoners of basic sustenance, including adequate medical care, is incompatible with the concept of human dignity and has no place in civilized society.’ We believe that Judge Tigar’s order got the law right and properly applied it to the facts of this case.” Full text of the article is available here: “Rights of Transgender Prisoners“.
RBGG has filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit for Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) on behalf of Michelle-Lael Norsworthy in Norsworthy v. Beard. The RBGG team representing BALIF pro bono included Aaron and Sandy, summer associate Abbye Klamann, and paralegal clerk Charlotte Landes. The BALIF press release is set out in a previous post. A copy of the brief is available here.