Judge upholds settlement with transgender Missouri inmate

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A judge has upheld a $501 settlement a transgender woman reached with a southwest Missouri sheriff and three jailers over a strip search.

The Springfield News-Leader reported the settlement was disputed until September when a judge upheld the deal that was reached months earlier. The unidentified inmate had undergone sex-reassignment surgery and was assigned to the jail’s female section after an initial strip search, which is standard booking procedure.

The lawsuit alleges the arresting officer questioned the next day why the inmate was being held in the female wing of the jail, and another strip search was conducted, observed by a male and female jailer.

Once identified as transgender, the inmate said she was placed in protective custody. The settlement also included attorney’s fees and costs.

Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com