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- The DOJ dropped its lawsuit against Utah over a transgender inmate's rights.
- Utah Attorney General Derek Brown welcomed the decision, citing cooperation with the Trump administration.
- The lawsuit alleged discrimination and denial of health care under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal lawsuit against Utah's Department of Corrections over where to house a transgender inmate was recently dropped by the Department of Justice, according to Utah's Attorney General Derek Brown.
The DOJ confirmed the complaint was voluntarily dismissed in a filing on Jan. 29.
During an episode of KSL's "Inside Sources" on Monday, Brown told podcast hosts Adam Gardiner and Rusty Cannon that since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, "We now have an administration, frankly, that's willing to talk with us."
"We've been working with the current new administration on lawsuits that have been filed against Utah that I thought were inappropriate or not based on good legal grounds," Brown added, including the federal case suing the state over alleged discrimination against a transgender inmate.
"I am grateful for the decision by the new leadership at the Department of Justice to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit against the state of Utah and the Utah Department of Corrections," he said in a statement to the Deseret News. "I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration."
Case background
Last April, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court, District of Utah, accusing the defendants — the state of Utah, the Utah Department of Corrections and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services — of not enforcing Title 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides government resources to people with disabilities so they may have equal benefits from programs, services and activities.
According to the suit, the Department of Corrections denied the complainant — a transgender woman — equal access to health care services by repeatedly ignoring her requests for hormone therapy and apparently failing to adjust its policies and practices to address her gender dysphoria.
The complainant also "sought reasonable modifications including to be permitted to purchase female clothing and personal items in the commissary, to modify pat search policies, and to individually assess her housing requests to avoid discrimination on the basis of gender dysphoria," per the complaint.
When the DOJ's complaint first surfaced last March in a letter from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, Brian Redd, executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections, initially said the department was "blindsided" by the filing and "had taken steps on our own, and as a state, to address the needs of inmates while maintaining the highest safety standards."
Redd also said the Corrections Department disagreed with the issues presented by the DOJ and was "disappointed with their approach."
In July, the Utah Attorney General's Office filed a support motion to dismiss, arguing that the inmate's gender dysphoria, as stated in the complaint, is not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Because the complaint alleges only a gender-dysphoria-based ADA violation, the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted," per the filing. "Gender dysphoria is not a protected disability under the ADA. Plaintiff's complaint must be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted."
The case was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff in a filing on Jan. 29, per government records.
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Emma Pitts
