A significant legal victory was recently achieved by UNC School of Law’s Civil Legal Assistance Clinic, helmed by Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law and Strategic Director for Emancipate NC Elizabeth Simpson. Simpson and her students successfully litigated a court order to transfer their transgender client, Ashlee Inscoe, from incarceration in a men’s facility to the safer women’s prison she was owed – a significant win for transgender rights in North Carolina.
A 2007 UC Irvine study found incarcerated transgender people face 13 times higher assault rates than male inmates. Yet Inscoe’s requests to be relocated consistently went ignored for over three years, despite the extreme risks she faced within the men’s facilities, until she turned to Simpson and Carolina Law’s clinic for representation.
Wake County Judge A. Graham Shirley’s emotional ruling granting Inscoe’s writ of mandamus and ordering her long-awaited transfer within 14 days marked the culmination of years spent battling a system that deprived her of basic dignity and protection.
“I see the clinical programs addressing the massive unmet need in the state for lawyers and giving students the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned to real work for real people,” said Clinical Programs Director Barbara Fedders. To her, Ashlee Inscoe’s case encapsulates this dual mission. By taking part in Inscoe’s legal fight – formulating strategy and carrying out key actions – the students obtained invaluable real-world experience.
Third-year students Robin Bleiweis and Eli Longnecker gained that first-hand experience supporting Inscoe alongside Simpson. “When Professor Simpson assigned Ashlee’s case to Eli and me, I was really excited to meet and get to know Ashlee, and for the opportunity to step up as her advocate,” Bleiweis said. “It was an incredible honor to represent Ashlee in securing this transfer ruling, which finally aligns where the law says she belongs based on her gender identity – a women’s correctional facility. We know she will be so much safer there. This was not only a huge, hard-fought win for Ashlee after all she has endured, but also majorly advances trans and intersex visibility and dignity in North Carolina.”
Wake County Judge A. Graham Shirley’s emotional ruling marked the culmination of Inscoe’s painful fight for justice. “Ashlee has always been in this fight not only for herself, but for all transgender people — and all people — who are incarcerated in North Carolina,” stated Simpson. “Ashlee’s advocacy will pave the way for others. Prison is an inhumane place, but Ashlee demands that we see incarcerated people as fully human.”
