Advocacy group settles with Minnesota´s Hennepin County sheriff to expand rights of transgender inmates

Paul Walsh, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Dec 3, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — A civil rights organization announced Wednesday that a settlement with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has yielded significant changes toward protecting the rights of transgender people in custody, particularly involving whether they are housed in the men’s or the women’s unit.

In 2023, Gender Justice filed a discrimination claim with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) on behalf of a transgender man who contended being wrongfully moved from the men’s to the women’s unit at the Hennepin County jail.

Although the man had transitioned more than a decade earlier and was initially correctly placed in the men’s unit, a correctional officer later reclassified him based solely on assumptions about his anatomy — asking invasive questions about his genitalia and disregarding his stated preference to be housed with men.

MDHR ultimately found the jail’s actions constituted unlawful discrimination, and the parties agreed to enter conciliation. Through that process, Gender Justice says it reached a settlement that includes significant policy changes designed to comply with state law.

Gender Justice says those changes include using an inmate’s preferred gender identity as the primary means of determining housing assignment; requiring regular training for jail staff to review inmate classification policies; making good-faith efforts to use the chosen names, pronouns and honorifics (Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.) of all people in custody.

“Trans people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect in every setting, including when they’re in custody,” Sara Jane Baldwin, senior staff attorney at Gender Justice, said in a statement issued Wednesday.

“People, not the government, get to say who they are,” Baldwin added. “Failing to honor that is discrimination. I hope other Minnesota counties will take notice of this settlement and ensure that their policies and practices follow the law.”

Baldwin added that “there was a financial settlement ... compensating our client for the harm caused.” Baldwin did not reveal the amount.

As far as any admission of wronging by the county, Baldwin said, “nothing was said — or not said — explicitly.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to county officials and the MDHR for their reaction to the settlement and how it was reached.

Gender Justice said the settlement comes “amid growing national attention to how transgender people are treated in the criminal justice system. Recent reforms ... have been heralded as models for ensuring jail placements align with a person’s gender identity and safety needs.”

“Hennepin County’s policy change joins that emerging movement, showing how local governments can take meaningful steps to uphold human rights and prevent discrimination in their facilities,” the group said in a statement.

--------