UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SUNDAY HINTON, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 21-1295 (JDB) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION This case arises out of the District of Columbia’s (the “District”) policy regarding the housing of transgender individuals in the custody of its Department of Corrections (“DOC”). Plaintiff Sunday Hinton is a transgender woman who was detained in the men’s unit of the D.C. Jail from April 26 to May 26, 2021. She brought this action for a preliminary and permanent injunction on behalf of herself and a putative class of transgender individuals to challenge DOC’s housing policy. Although DOC amended its policy subsequent to the commencement of this action, Hinton insists that her claims remain viable because, even as amended, the policy unlawfully discriminates against transgender individuals in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the D.C. Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”). She also insists that, notwithstanding her release from custody, her class claims are not moot because of their inherently transitory nature. Hinton’s motions for class certification and preliminary injunction are now fully briefed and ripe for this Court’s consideration following a motions hearing held on August 24, 2021. The Court will deny Hinton’s motions for class certification and preliminary injunction without prejudice. Due to the fluid nature of the putative prospective class, the Court will give Hinton the 1 opportunity to file a renewed motion for class certification with the benefit of pre-certification discovery and to amend her complaint, which may in turn preserve her forward-looking class-wide claims beyond the expiration of her individual stake in the outcome of this litigation. Background I. Plaintiff Hinton’s Detention Plaintiff Sunday Hinton was brought into the custody of DOC on April 26, 2021. Am. Class Action Compl. for Declaratory & Inj. Relief (“Am. Compl.”) [ECF No. 32] ¶ 3. Despite identifying herself as a transgender woman and requesting to be placed in a women’s unit, Hinton was assigned to a men’s unit pursuant to the DOC policy then in effect. Id. After spending approximately two weeks in that unit, Hinton filed the instant action on May 11, 2021 seeking a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and preliminary injunction mandating that DOC immediately transfer her to a women’s unit. Id. ¶ 4. Hinton’s complaint alleged that DOC policy housed transgender individuals in either a men’s or women’s housing unit based presumptively on their anatomy rather than their gender identity. Compl. [ECF No. 1] ¶ 1. Her complaint further alleged that this “policy of considering anatomy as either the default or the exclusive criterion in housing assignments for transgender people” constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the DCHRA. Id. ¶¶ 47, 52. Hinton also sought certification to seek class-wide relief for “similarly situated transgender individuals” who are either currently housed in DOC facilities inconsistent with their gender identity, “or who will be detained in a DOC facility in the future.” Id. at 1. According …
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