A transgender woman's challenge to her transfer from a women's prison to solitary confinement in a men's facility reached the Washington State Supreme Court

On Tuesday, June 23, the case tests whether the Department of Corrections violated Amber Kim's constitutional rights when it housed her based on her sex assigned at birth.

Justices heard oral arguments at the Temple of Justice in Olympia from attorneys representing Kim, who has been held in solitary confinement at the Monroe Correctional Facility since spring 2024, and the state Attorney General's office.

Kim, who is serving a life sentence without parole, was transferred from the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor after she and her cellmate were caught having sex in March 2024. Both received infractions. Her cellmate remained at Gig Harbor. Kim was moved to Monroe and placed in solitary.

According to the Washington State Standard, she was the first transgender woman in Washington transferred back to a men's prison.

"The department did something far beyond what was necessary to address any legitimate concerns it had about Ms. Kim's conduct," ACLU of Washington attorney Adrien Leavitt told the justices.

Leavitt argued the state could return Kim to the women's prison under more restrictive conditions, such as housing her without a cellmate.

Emma Grunberg, representing the Attorney General's office, countered that even "close custody" at Gig Harbor would be insufficient because prisoners under that status can still mix with those at other custody levels.

Grunberg acknowledged the Department of Corrections never alleged the sexual encounter was non-consensual but noted Kim's cellmate "had been known to be vulnerable and to have high mental health need."

The state also argued Kim posed a pregnancy risk to other prisoners, a claim Kim disputes, saying she is now infertile after gender-affirming surgeries.

The case unfolds alongside a separate Trump administration DOJ investigation into Washington's transgender prison policy.

In May 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice notified Gov. Bob Ferguson that it was probing reports the state "failed to protect female prisoners from sexual and physical violence" from transgender inmates. That federal investigation was triggered by a different prisoner's lawsuit.

The state Department of Corrections reported in May 2026 that 20 transgender prisoners were held at the Gig Harbor women's facility, with 347 transgender or non-binary individuals across all state prisons.

No decision date has been set.