Patti Hamond Shaw v. District of Columbia, et al.

Patti Hamond Shaw (plaintiff) obtained sex-reassignment surgery and legally changed her sex from male to female. Prior to changing her sex, Shaw was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department (the department) and treated as a male detainee. After changing her sex, Shaw was arrested by the department two additional times. Despite the department’s knowledge of Shaw’s biological and legal sex change, Shaw was detained with male prisoners and endured sexual harassment while detained. Shaw’s confinement was in violation of the department’s policy requiring that all transgender detainees be placed in individual cells. However, the department did contact the United States Marshals Service (the service) to inform the service that a transgender individual was currently detained, as required by the department’s policy. Shaw was then transferred from the department’s custody to the service’s custody. The service also detained Shaw with male prisoners. Shaw endured additional harassment while detained with the service. Shaw sued the District of Columbia (the district) (defendant) in federal district court. Shaw alleged that the treatment she had received violated multiple federal and state laws and her constitutional rights. Among her allegations, Shaw argued that her due-process rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution had been violated. The district moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that it had qualified immunity. The federal district court considered the motion.