Filed Date: March 8, 2018
Closed Date: June 30, 2022
Clearinghouse coding complete
On March 8, 2018 a transgender woman serving a ten-year sentence brought this lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections and a group of its officers in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Though she had lived as a woman since the age of five, the plaintiff was incarcerated in a men’s prison and had previously been transferred from another men’s prison due to harassment and abuse by guards and prisoners. Following a settlement in a related case, the plaintiff continued to be harassed and subjected to physical and sexual abuse. As a result, she was placed in segregation and made multiple suicide attempts. In addition to continued abuse, the defendants allegedly failed to provide basic mental health services to the plaintiff. Officers also allegedly physically assaulted her and made clear that they would not protect her from other inmates.
The complaint and an accompanying motion for preliminary injunction asked the court to order the defendants to transfer the plaintiff to a women’s prison. The plaintiff also sought:
1) an injunction under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which would require adequate mental health care and placement in general population rather than segregation;
2) a declaration that the defendants’ conduct and policies violated the Eight and Fourteenth Amendments and the Illinois Hate Crimes Act;
3) compensatory and punitive damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; and
4) attorney fees.
The case was assigned to Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel. On April 20, 2018, the defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to dismiss the suit because the plaintiff had yet to “exhaust his administrative remedies” (emphasis added) as required by the PLRA for actions brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The defendant argued that the plaintiff failed to follow procedure or provide sufficient information for the grievances that were filed, and in other cases failed to file a grievance for particular claims.
On June 8, 2018, the plaintiff moved to withdraw her motion for a preliminary injunction, informing the court the she had been transferred to a new men’s prison facility due to her fear for her life from ongoing abuse. There, she was placed in general population and received some mental health services, seeming to moot the request for preliminary relief. However, on July 17, 2018, barely a month later, the plaintiff filed a renewed motion for preliminary injunction, arguing that as soon as her prior injunctive motion had been withdrawn, prison staff had resumed discriminatory treatment against her, including verbal abuse and a failure to ensure her physical safety from other inmates and prison staff. On August 14, 2018, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint reflecting these developments.
On November 7, 2018, Judge Rosenstengel issued an order granting portions of the preliminary injunction. 2018 WL 5830730. The order emphasized that since her childhood, the plaintiff's "family and community treated her as a girl and referred to her by her preferred name.” Judge Rosenstengel also noted that the plaintiff had begun "hormone treatment to physically transition to female” which was “most likely irreversible.” The court held that the plaintiff had a likelihood of success as to her equal protection claims and her Eighth Amendment claims. It ordered the defendants to train staff on transgender issues, allow the plaintiff to attend transgender support group programs, and consider all evidence for and against transferring the plaintiff to a women’s facility. The injunction gave the defendants fourteen days to comply.
Magistrate Judge Reona Daly documented a report and recommendations pertaining to the defendant's motion for summary judgment. 2019 WL 3046332. The report granted the defendant's motion for some claims, finding that the plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative options. For nine other claims, though, the Magistrate Judge recommended denying the defendant's summary judgment motion because the facts supported the plaintiff's assertion that she had exhausted her administrative options. Because neither party objected to the report, Judge Rosenstengel reviewed the report only for clear error. Finding none, she adopted the recommendations on May 15, 2019. 2019 WL 2118219. The claims dismissed were dismissed without prejudice, and the surviving claims proceeded.
On July 8, 2019, the plaintiff was transferred out of Illinois Department of Corrections. Shortly thereafter, on July 25, two defendants associated with Illinois Department of Corrections moved to dismiss claims against them seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. The two defendants argued that the plaintiff's transfer mooted those claims. After the plaintiffs did not respond to the motion, Judge Rosenstengel dismissed the claims on February 6, 2020. 2020 WL 584193. After this motion, the five surviving claims were: three Eighth Amendment claims, a claim arising under the Illinois Hate Crimes Act, and an IIED claim.
The court dismissed the former IDOC Director and the Warden of Lawrence Correction Center in their official capacities on April 16, 2020. The court found that because the plaintiff had been released from IDOC custody, her claims against the two defendants in their official capacity were now moot. The defendants remained in the case in their individual capacities for the purposes of the plaintiff’s IIED claim. The plaintiff submitted a second amended complaint reflecting the remaining claims the same day.
The plaintiff and the defendants both submitted motions to compel the other party’s Facebook posts in the summer of 2020. The court ruled on the motion on January 13, 2021, granting both motions. 2021 WL 122958. The defendants requested any and all of the plaintiff’s Facebook posts related to litigation with IDOC, medical and mental health treatment, and gender identity from January 2018 to January 2021. They claimed the posts were relevant to the case because the plaintiff’s gender identity and her mental and health treatment were a central issue in the case, and the posts would show the lasting effects of the defendants’ actions. as well as how she was treated by the defendants and her vulnerability while in prison. The court found the information relevant to the Eighth Amendment claims and ordered the plaintiff to provide her Facebook handle within 7 days, so the defendants could access and review her Facebook page for any relevant information.
The plaintiff requested posts from the defendants on the private Facebook group "Behind the Walls—Illinois Dep't of Corrections," also from January 2018 to January 2021. Specifically, the plaintiff was seeking any posts about her, transgender inmates, and posts by specific defendants. The plaintiff claimed these posts were relevant because they had the potential to implicate certain defendants as either aware of, or participating in, the transphobic culture among prison staff. The court agreed and ordered defendants to conduct a search for electronically stored information on the the Facebook page “Behind the Wall,” as well as the defendants personal Facebook pages, and produce any posts 1) mentioning Hampton; 2) mentioning any transgender prisoner or transgender prisoners in general; or 3) posted by any of the defendants.
On May 12, 2021, the court ordered the parties to meet for a settlement conference. The court denied the defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment a month later on June 23, 2021. 2021 WL 2580267. With respect to the use of excessive force claim, the court found that the plaintiff’s compliance with directives and the necessity of using force were both issues of material fact that needed to be decided by a jury. The court found similar factual disputes in the remaining claims, including whether increasing the plaintiff’s segregation time amounted to deliberate indifference towards her mental health, and the culpability of individual defendants in failing to protect the plaintiff from threats and assaults. The court rejected the defendants’ qualified immunity defense in response to the excessive force, deliberate indifference, and failure to protect claims, stating that there were factual disputes as to whether the defendants violated the plaintiff’s rights, and the claims therefore had to be resolved at trial. Finally, the defendants argued that sovereign immunity barred the plaintiff’s state law claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, but the court disagreed, finding that if proven, the claim would fall within the exception to sovereign immunity. When agents of the state act in violation of statutory or constitutional law, or in excess of their authority, they cannot be protected by sovereign immunity.
Following settlement negotiations, the parties entered into a private settlement agreement. The case was closed as a result of the plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal on June 30, 2022.
Summary Authors
Nathaniel Flack (11/15/2018)
Justin Hill (4/13/2020)
Simran Takhar (11/19/2023)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7965583/parties/hampton-v-baldwin/
, (Illinois)
Abelson, Adam (Illinois)
Aboushi, Tahanie Ahmad (Illinois)
Adams, Elizabeth Knight (Illinois)
Adkins, Micah S. (Illinois)
Daly, Reona (Illinois)
Herndon, David R. (Illinois)
Rosenstengel, Nancy Jo (Illinois)
Aboushi, Tahanie Ahmad (Illinois)
Adams, Elizabeth Knight (Illinois)
Agro, Jill Kornhauser (Illinois)
Aldarondo-Lopez, Eliezer Alberto (Illinois)
Aldarondo-Ortiz, Eliezer (Illinois)
Aliff-Ortiz, Claudio (Illinois)
Allred, Raymond Sanders (Illinois)
Amass, Tyler Hancock (Illinois)
Aronson, Jonathan Bruce (Illinois)
Avorn, Andrew Tucker (Illinois)
Aziz, Mohammad Abdul (Illinois)
Barringer, Maisie Anne (Illinois)
Battistoni, Thomas Patrick (Illinois)
Bauer, Mary Catherine (Illinois)
Begun, Laura Nicole (Illinois)
Berkowsky, Danielle (Illinois)
Bilfield, Murray D. (Illinois)
Blanchard, David M. (Illinois)
Blum, Carolyn Patty (Illinois)
Bober, David Vincent (Illinois)
Boucher, Richard Alan (Illinois)
Bradshaw, Drexel Andrew (Illinois)
Brancart, Elizabeth N (Illinois)
Brancart, Christopher A (Illinois)
Branch, Jennifer Lynn (Illinois)
Brand, Michael Aaron (Illinois)
Bratton, Janaya Trotter (Illinois)
Brice, Kenton Scott (Illinois)
Brooke, Samuel Jacob (Illinois)
Brown, Samuel Marion (Illinois)
Brown, Gwendolyn K. (Illinois)
Burnham, Margaret A. (Illinois)
Cabraser, Elizabeth Joan (Illinois)
Calhoun, Stephanie Joy (Illinois)
Campbell, Donald J. (Illinois)
Carminati, Maria-Vittoria Galli (Illinois)
Carney, Tiffiney F. (Illinois)
Carpenter, Julie Moore (Illinois)
Carr, Patrick Eugene (Illinois)
Carter, Jason James (Illinois)
Carter, Brian Scott (Illinois)
Cartier, Katelyn Rae (Illinois)
Castro-Ortiz, Ivan M. (Illinois)
Cervantez, Eve Hedy (Illinois)
Chang-Newell, Jennifer (Illinois)
Chickedantz, Maria Lauren (Illinois)
Christensen, Jeanne M (Illinois)
Christman, Andrew Wayne (Illinois)
Chudd, Daniel Edward (Illinois)
Cirkiel, Martin Jay (Illinois)
Clark, Kevin Michael (Illinois)
Conlin, Cynthia Ariel (Illinois)
Connelly, Michael P. (Illinois)
Connelly, Matthew Patrick (Illinois)
Conroy, Matthew James (Illinois)
Cordes, Lindsay Anne (Illinois)
Corley, Jacqueline Scott (Illinois)
Corn-Revere, Robert (Illinois)
Cortez, Marie Christine (Illinois)
Costa, Benjamin Anthony (Illinois)
Cox, Alfred Johnston (Illinois)
Crabtree, Robert K. (Illinois)
Cueto, Christopher F. (Illinois)
D'Angelo, Stephen L. (Illinois)
Danieleski, Manda L. (Illinois)
Daniels, Paul Anthony (Illinois)
Del-Valle-Cruz, Carlos (Illinois)
Demond, William Pieratt (Illinois)
Dempsey, Patricia A. (Illinois)
Desormeau, Katherine (Illinois)
Devore, Joshua Seth (Illinois)
Dixon, Cynthia Valenzuela (Illinois)
Dolan, Christopher H (Illinois)
Downey, Glen Stephen (Illinois)
Dunn, Laura Lynette (Illinois)
Edwards, Bradley James (Illinois)
Eisenberg, Michael DJ (Illinois)
Ellington, C. Ronald (Illinois)
Elliot, Jonathan D. (Illinois)
Ellis, Krista Marie (Illinois)
Endersby, Austen C. (Illinois)
England, Christine Gealy (Illinois)
Espinoza-Madrigal, Ivan E (Illinois)
Etcubanez, Marita Cecilia (Illinois)
Federman, William B (Illinois)
Feibelman, Frank Morris (Illinois)
Fierberg, Douglas E. (Illinois)
Filipovits, Jeffrey (Illinois)
Filippatos, Parisis G. (Illinois)
Finckbeiner, John Joseph (Illinois)
Finsten, James Jacob (Illinois)
Fitzpatrick, Thomas Okuda (Illinois)
Fraioli, Joseph Anthony (Illinois)
Frazier, Sarah Mary (Illinois)
Friedman, Jason Howard (Illinois)
Friedman, Lawrence J (Illinois)
Fundingsland, C Lynne (Illinois)
Galland, George Freeman (Illinois)
Garcia, Ricardo Antonio (Illinois)
Gardner, Melissa Ann (Illinois)
Garza, Rochelle Mercedes (Illinois)
Gearon, Thomas Drew (Illinois)
Gennardo, Patrick Joseph (Illinois)
Gerhardstein, Alphonse Adam (Illinois)
Gilbert, Nathan Kyle (Illinois)
Giorgio, Christina Elizabeth (Illinois)
Gisleson, Soren Erik (Illinois)
Goldenberg, Marlene Jaye (Illinois)
Goldman, Peter Ronai (Illinois)
Golub, Mitchell Alan (Illinois)
Goodsnyder, Christopher Michael (Illinois)
Gorczynski, Linda M. (Illinois)
Gremillion, Frank J. (Illinois)
Grier, Rachel Leeanne (Illinois)
Grover, Samuel Troxell (Illinois)
Grysman, Sharon Israel (Illinois)
Guerrero, Alberto Luis (Illinois)
Guttentag, Lucas E. (Illinois)
Hammond, Philip Rayland (Illinois)
Hammond, Julian Ari (Illinois)
Hand, Aaron Richard (Illinois)
Harrison, Justin Paul (Illinois)
Harrison, John Richard (Illinois)
Hartz, Alisa Louise (Illinois)
Haskett, Christine Saunders (Illinois)
Hausler, Sanford Jay (Illinois)
Hawkins, Deborah A. (Illinois)
Henderson, Brittany Nicole (Illinois)
Hennig, Robert Alan (Illinois)
Herman, Jeffrey Marc (Illinois)
Horwitz, Blake Wolfe (Illinois)
Hosseinian, Azadeh M (Illinois)
Howard, Madeline Sargent (Illinois)
Hubbard, Jonathan Stuart (Illinois)
Hulting, Patricia M (Illinois)
Iturralde, Christina (Illinois)
Ivey, John Kemmerer (Illinois)
Jacobi, Harold Jacobi (Illinois)
Jacobs, Rebecca Ariel (Illinois)
Jadwat, Omar Cassim (Illinois)
Jones, Terrence Matthew (Illinois)
Jordan, Elizabeth Joynes (Illinois)
Kachergus, Matthew R. (Illinois)
Kao, Winifred Virginia (Illinois)
Kaufman, Jonathan Gaynor (Illinois)
Kaufman, David Zachary (Illinois)
Kelley, Dugan Patrick (Illinois)
Kilpatrick, Steven C (Illinois)
Knightshead, Tedrick K. (Illinois)
Knowles, Victoria C (Illinois)
Kreindler, Mitchell Reed (Illinois)
Kubitschek, Carolyn A. (Illinois)
Kugler, Elizabeth Haman (Illinois)
Lansdowne, Dennis R. (Illinois)
Lapointe, Michelle Rose (Illinois)
Lee, Diane Hwakyung (Illinois)
Lemanski, Andrew Edward (Illinois)
Librera, Kelly Anne (Illinois)
Lindahl, Rebecca K. (Illinois)
Lindholm, Matthew T (Illinois)
Lopez, Alicia Consuelo (Illinois)
Lopez, Amanda Victoria (Illinois)
Lora-Lopez, Federico (Illinois)
Luff, Patrick Allen (Illinois)
Lupkin, Jonathan Daniel (Illinois)
Maloney, Janice Elizabeth (Illinois)
Mansfield, Douglas M (Illinois)
Mansfield, Alan McQuarrie (Illinois)
Maraschino, Margaret Grace (Illinois)
Margulis-Ohnuma, Zachary (Illinois)
Marinelli, Robert J. (Illinois)
Marrinan, Michael R (Illinois)
Mastromarco, Victor J. (Illinois)
Matos, Elizabeth D. (Illinois)
Mazzocchi, Kristina (Illinois)
Mbaye, Lesley Berson (Illinois)
McGuinness, Daniel Adam (Illinois)
McKinney, Rebekah Keith (Illinois)
McNeill, William Clarence (Illinois)
McPherson, Edwin F. (Illinois)
Medley, Victoria Nicole (Illinois)
Melo, Michael Thomas (Illinois)
Menendez, Matthew J. (Illinois)
Mermelstein, Stuart S. (Illinois)
Middleton, Jennifer J. (Illinois)
Miller-Radovic, Lizette (Illinois)
Miltenberg, Andrew T. (Illinois)
Mirer, Jeanne Ellen (Illinois)
Mirkovich, Samuel R. (Illinois)
Mitchell, Thomas W. (Illinois)
Mitola, John Richard (Illinois)
Montanez, Carlos E. (Illinois)
Moore, James Anthony (Illinois)
Morris, Shannah Jean (Illinois)
Mowers, Jeffrey Arthur (Illinois)
Mulholland, Lee-Anne (Illinois)
Mulligan, Edward John (Illinois)
Murphy, Pierce Christopher (Illinois)
Myers, Kristen Marie (Illinois)
Naef, Andrea Kloehn (Illinois)
Nealon, Robert Bernard (Illinois)
Nemeth, Stephanie L (Illinois)
Neubauer, Elisabeth Jill (Illinois)
Newman, Chris Newman (Illinois)
Nichols, Carolyn M. (Illinois)
Nichols, Wallace R. (Illinois)
Nielsen, Jonathan L (Illinois)
Norton, Jeffrey Michael (Illinois)
OBrien, Thomas Joseph (Illinois)
Ochoa, Lino Humberto (Illinois)
O'Connell, Penelope B. (Illinois)
Odediran, Chigozie F (Illinois)
O'Keefe, Timothy L. (Illinois)
Okum, Bess Messerman (Illinois)
Olanoff, Oliver Michael (Illinois)
Opheim, Jennifer Marie (Illinois)
Orlandi, Anthony A. (Illinois)
Ozment, Harry Elliott (Illinois)
Paylor, Alice Fountain (Illinois)
Payton, Cassandra S (Illinois)
Peterson, Matthew D (Illinois)
Philemond, Jessica K (Illinois)
Phillips, Bradley S (Illinois)
Phillips, Kimberly S. (Illinois)
Pileggi, Francis G.X. (Illinois)
Pochoda, Daniel Joseph (Illinois)
Poindexter, Jeffrey E. (Illinois)
Pollick, Cynthia L. (Illinois)
Poorman, Jacob Kevin (Illinois)
Porter, James Wallace (Illinois)
Pritchard, Michael Todd (Illinois)
Puddister, George J. (Illinois)
Pulkrabek, Ross Whiting (Illinois)
Rahman, Tanvir Haque (Illinois)
Randazza, Marc John (Illinois)
Rappaport, John Michael (Illinois)
Rattigan, Margaret Fogerty (Illinois)
Rehkemper, Robert G (Illinois)
Reilly, Rebecca Marie (Illinois)
Reynolds, Caroline Elizabeth (Illinois)
Risher, Michael Temple (Illinois)
Rivera-MacMurray, Patricia (Illinois)
Roberts, Denetra D. (Illinois)
Roberts, Susan Shawn (Illinois)
Roberts, L. Kathleen (Illinois)
Rodriguez, Fidel Rodriguez (Illinois)
Rogers, Shane William (Illinois)
Roggendorf, Kristian S. (Illinois)
Ronstadt, Erin Rose (Illinois)
Rosenbaum, Jonathan E. (Illinois)
Rosenwasser, Steven (Illinois)
Russell, Sarah French (Illinois)
Russell, Peter Damien (Illinois)
Saltzman, William D. (Illinois)
Salvatore, Jennifer B. (Illinois)
Sanders, Elizabeth A. (Illinois)
Sarko, Lynn Lincoln (Illinois)
Saylor, John Christian (Illinois)
Schnell, Randi Engel (Illinois)
Schreiber, Gerhardt Adam (Illinois)
Schwartz, Thomas E. (Illinois)
Schwartz, Evan Sanford (Illinois)
Schwartz, Mark Kelley (Illinois)
Schwartzmann, Katharine Murphy (Illinois)
Sen, Diana Sagorika (Illinois)
Sender, Jennifer Lundy (Illinois)
Sessions, Peter Steffens (Illinois)
Shapland, David Eric (Illinois)
Sheppard, William J. (Illinois)
Shuler, Tonya Patrick (Illinois)
Silverstein, Alisa Lynn (Illinois)
Simon, Cari Stephanie (Illinois)
Sitorius, Michelle L. (Illinois)
Slusher, Christopher A. (Illinois)
Small, Sean Vincent (Illinois)
Smith, William Douglas (Illinois)
Spielberger, Andrew J. (Illinois)
Spillman, Lindsay Ellis (Illinois)
State, David Joseph (Illinois)
Steinberg, James Michael (Illinois)
Stephenson, Zachary L (Illinois)
Stewart, Colin Gregory (Illinois)
Stoll, Christopher F (Illinois)
Storey, Devin Miles (Illinois)
Stranch, James Gerard (Illinois)
Strasbaugh, Kathleen J. (Illinois)
Sugarman, Kenneth John (Illinois)
Tallberg, James Newhall (Illinois)
Taylor, Leah Brownlee (Illinois)
Toporek, Alan David (Illinois)
Trahant, Richard Charles (Illinois)
Tsai, Kelly Hsiao-I (Illinois)
Vargas, Heather Bond (Illinois)
Vasquez, Jessica Michelle (Illinois)
Verde, Joshua Armstrong (Illinois)
Weston, Kathryn Diane (Illinois)
White, Elizabeth Louise (Illinois)
Wickenheiser, Kathryn J. (Illinois)
Williams-Derry, Amy C (Illinois)
Wilson, Ronald Lawrence (Illinois)
Wishnie, Michael Joel (Illinois)
Wortman, Scott Evan (Illinois)
Wright, Robert Thomas (Illinois)
York, William Patrick (Illinois)
Zalkin, Alexander S (Illinois)
Attorney, OIL-DCS Trial (Illinois)
Campbell, Rhonda Lisa (Illinois)
Cassidy, Terence John (Illinois)
Dominguez, E Carlos (Illinois)
Francolla, Brian Christopher (Illinois)
Habeas, US Attorney (Illinois)
Higgerson, Christopher L. (Illinois)
Hildebrand, Heidi J (Illinois)
Jeffrey, Donald Eldridge (Illinois)
Johnson, Kristin Berger (Illinois)
LA-CV, Assistant 2241-194 (Illinois)
Lopez, Tracey Whitney (Illinois)
McClimans, Christine G. (Illinois)
Pederson, Michael E. (Illinois)
Schencker, Eliot Gary (Illinois)
Services, IDOC Chief (Illinois)
Sheffield, Carlton Frederick (Illinois)
Silverberg, Steven Mark (Illinois)
Spiegel, Patricia L. (Illinois)
Spillars, Andrea Kaye (Illinois)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7965583/hampton-v-baldwin/
Last updated March 2, 2024, 3:13 a.m.
State / Territory: Illinois
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: March 8, 2018
Closing Date: June 30, 2022
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A transgender woman incarcerated in a men's prison.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Illinois Department of Corrections, State
Director of Illinois Department of Corrections (Springfield), State
Warden of Lawrence Correctional Center (Sumner), State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Provide antidiscrimination training
Issues
General:
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Sexual abuse by residents/inmates
Sex w/ staff; sexual harassment by staff
Assault/abuse by staff (facilities)
Assault/abuse by non-staff (facilities)
Discrimination-area:
Discrimination-basis:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: