By Ben Solis
Gongwer News Service
A lawsuit alleging the Michigan Department of Corrections discriminated against an inmate because they have gender dysphoria and faced threats survived a barrage of summary judgment motions from the department and the state of Michigan, court records show.
In an opinion released last week, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy, Eastern District of Michigan, denied the defendants' motions for summary judgment in Parker v. Michigan (USEDM Docket No. 24-10079).
Levy also granted the plaintiff's motion for an extension to serve a summons and the complaint with respect to one of the named defendants, and also granted their motion for leave to file an amended complaint.
A request for preliminary injunction was withdrawn during a hearing on the matter because the plaintiff received the requested accommodation in the case at a new correctional facility.
The lawsuit seeks punitive and compensatory damages for discrimination against the plaintiff, who identifies as a non-conforming, non-binary gender dysphoric prisoner. The plaintiff alleges that the department and its officers collectively discriminated against him while housed in the Thumb Correctional Facility.
The plaintiff further alleges the department recklessly disregarded the risk posed by rescinding his special medical accommodation to shower in privacy and bunk with only gender dysphoric prisoners.
Additionally, the plaintiff alleges the department and its officers treated him differently compared to other gender dysphoric prisoners due to their refusal to engage in hormone therapy, which the plaintiff described as cruel and unusual punishment and a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
The resulting discrimination, the plaintiff alleges, led him to being placed in immediate danger with constant threats of rape, death, assault and other abuse.
In various motions, the department and the state sought to revoke the plaintiff's ability to proceed without paying filing fees in addition to summary judgment. Levy denied both requests.
The judge gave the plaintiff until October 30 to file an amended complaint.
