Federal court rules Oregon can place trans women in men’s prisons

A federal appellate court ruled Thursday that Oregon can house transgender female inmates in men’s prisons.

A panel of federal judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals tossed a lower court ruling that ordered Oregon prison officials to place transgender women prisoners in institutions based on gender identity, counter to a February directive from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

All three appellate judges who overturned U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke’s decision were appointed by President Donald Trump, and trans inmates in the appellate court ruling consistently referred to trans inmates as “male inmates who claim to be female.”

U.S. Appellate Judge Eric Tung said the lower court erred in determining the state wrongly had sorted some prisoners based on gender assigned at birth.

Related: Appeals court clears path to move trans women into men’s prisons despite sexual assault risk

“The district court improperly disregarded the overwhelming contrary evidence presented by Defendants in favor of baseless speculation,” Tung wrote, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Oregon officials have assessed prison assignments on a case-by-case basis, considering inmates’ personal history and gender identity among other factors in deciding whether they belong on men’s or women’s prison facilities. But while there are exemptions, records show about 90% of transgender women housed in state prisons end up in facilities designated for men. Two trans inmates sued the state in 2025 to stop the policy. Clarke had ruled the state must recalibrate and presume trans women should be housed based on gender identity unless an individualized review determines otherwise.

Related: Oregon to pay $295K to trans woman imprisoned until 2049

Tung, however, wrote that there was no evidence of discrimination against a class of inmates and that Oregon’s prior policies could stand.

“At most, the record reflects that different officials acted in different ways toward different prisoners at different times,” Tung wrote.

Related: Federal judge says Oregon must house trans inmates by gender identity, not Trump’s policy

He also wrote that housing trans women with other female inmates could compromise public safety.

Attorneys for the inmates who brought the court action maintain there is discrimination against transgender inmates in the state prison system. They also made clear the case will be appealed to the next level.

“We continue to believe that the current conditions place transgender women in ODOC custody at a serious risk of sexual and physical assault, and we intend to continue pursuing our clients’ claims,” attorney John Burgess said in a statement to OPB. “We believe the evidence developed as the case proceeds will support those claims.”