Judge sides with transgender woman in bathroom dispute
Sheriff's deputy ordered Jones to leave women's restroom at courthouse in 2011
Mar 8, 2013
Written by Josh O'Leary
Iowa City Press-Citizenhttp://www.press-citizen.com/article/20130309/NEWS01/303090032/Judge-sides-transgender-woman-bathroom-dispute?nclick_check=1
Jodie Jones (Photo by Josh O'Leary / P-C)A state administrative law judge has ruled in favor of a transgender Iowa City women who filed a civil rights complaint after a sheriff's deputy ordered her to leave a women's restroom at the Johnson County Courthouse.
Jodie Jones, 56, says she attended a court hearing in November 2011 while dressed in female clothing, according to a ruling and report issued Tuesday by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission that Jones provided to the Press-Citizen.
In a ruling issued this week, Administrative Law Judge Heather Palmer concluded there was probable cause supporting Jones' claims of discrimination on the basis of gender identity, sex and sexual orientation in a public accommodation. The Iowa Civil Rights Commission in February had recommended that the judge rule as such after an investigation.
Under Iowa Code, it is considered discriminatory to deny a person use of a public accommodation based on their gender identity.
"The primary thing that motivated this is I don't want anyone else to suffer what I suffered," Jones said.
A phone number could not be located for Henderson, who has since retired from the Sheriff's Department. Henderson told the commission she was unaware of Jones' gender transition and had asked Jones to leave the restroom because she was known to be male. "Her affidavit and interview confirm Henderson believed it to be reasonable to 'ask a person to use the restroom that is appropriate to their physical gender,'" wrote Sara Stibitz, a civil rights specialist, in the commission's report.
