5th Circuit reverses dismissal of trans woman's lawsuit against sheriff, former sheriff, county
A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals today (Monday, March 29) issued a ruling reversing a lower-court ruling dismissing Dallas trans woman Valerie Jackson’s civil lawsuit against former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, Dallas County Sheriff Marian Anderson and Dallas County, claiming that DCSO deputies and employees violated her constitutional rights related to her gender identity. But the three-judge panel refused again to reverse Judge Brantley Starr’s refusal to recuse himself from the trial.
“We affirm the denial of the motion to recuse, reverse the dismissal of the municipal liability claims against Dallas County and Valdez and Brown in their official capacities, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the panel — consisting of Judges Rhesa H. Barksdale, Leslie H. Southwick and James E. Graves Jr. — wrote. The judges said this ruling will not be published, which it cannot be cited as precedent except under the limited circumstances explained in Fifth Circuit rules.
Jackson’s lawsuit stems from a November 2016 incident in which Jackson was arrested for having a gun in her purse when she tried to go through security at DFW International Airport. Jackson told Dallas Voice at the time that a friend had given her the gun for self protection when she was being stalked by a man who had been connected to assaults on one woman and threats to another, She said she had forgotten she had it in her purse when she went to the airport to catch a flight for a vacation with friends. The charges against Jackson were later dropped.
When she was arrested, Jackson was transferred to the Dallas County Jail where, she said, she was repeatedly misgendered despite legal identification bearing her appropriate gender and was repeatedly humiliated when she was forced to undergo strip searches, forced to show her genitals with to male deputies, housed with male inmates and forced to shower with male inmates.
Read more: https://dallasvoice.com/5th-circuit-reverses-dismissal-of-trans-womans-lawsuit-against-sheriff-former-sheriff-county/
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