Filed Date: Feb. 11, 1987
Closed Date: Feb. 29, 1988
Clearinghouse coding complete
The plaintiff in this case, Dee Farmer, was a trans woman housed at U.S.P. Lewisburg, a men's federal prison in Pennsylvania, and was later transferred to F.C.I. Petersburg, a federal prison in Virginia. Farmer also litigated Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994), the first civil rights case involving a trans person in the U.S. Supreme Court. That was a different case; it's in the Clearinghouse here.
Farmer filed this suit pro se with the help of another inmate on February 11, 1987 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The complaint names as defendants the Administrator of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the Regional Director of the Northeast Region of the BOP, Wardens of U.S.P Lewisburg and F.C.I. Petersburg, and four John Doe defendants, correctional staff and employees at the two prisons. The case was assigned to Chief Judge Nealson, who dismissed the claims against the defendants from F.C.I. Petersburg for improper venue.
Farmer alleged that she had been denied medical care, treated with deliberate indifference in regards to a serious medical need, subject to cruel and unusual punishment, denied due process, and denied access to the court system. She claims that this treatment violates her rights under the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
Farmer arrived at U.S.P. Lewisburg in November of 1986. She had been on hormone replacement therapy, her last dose a month before she was incarcerated. Prison staff and administration refused to provide her with estrogen, claiming that providing psychological care was an acceptable alternative due to difference of opinion at the time regarding how transsexualism should be treated (please note - transsexualism has since been removed from the World Health Association's list of International Classification of Diseases, and is no longer commonly used by the trans community or gender affirming care providers). Her request for psychological care was also delayed for two months despite her repeated requests and staff observation of her mental distress.
The due process, access to courts, and cruel and unusual punishment allegations were based on the defendants placing the plaintiff in administrative segregation for the entire time she was at U.S.P. Lewisburg, totaling four months. While in segregation, she was denied access to recreational programming, psychological counseling, and certain types of legal assistance.
Chief Judge Nealson's opinion, issued on February 29, 1988, granted the defendants motions for summary judgment on all counts. Throughout the opinion, he used masculine pronouns to refer to the plaintiff. He dismissed the case with an order that any appeal would be deemed frivolous.
Summary Authors
Alex Moody (2/24/2020)
Nealon, William Joseph Jr. (Pennsylvania)
Nealon, William Joseph Jr. (Pennsylvania)
Last updated March 17, 2024, 3 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Pennsylvania
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Feb. 11, 1987
Closing Date: Feb. 29, 1988
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A trans woman housed in men's prisons in Pennsylvania and Virginia
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: Yes
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Federal Bureau of Prisons (Washington, DC), Federal
U.S.P Lewisburg (Lewisburg, Union), Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Reproductive rights:
General:
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
LGBTQ+:
Discrimination-basis:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: