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18 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 561 (2008-2009)
The Criminal Justice System and Trans People

handle is hein.journals/tempcr18 and id is 565 raw text is: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND TRANS PEOPLE by KYLAR W. BROADUS* Over the years, the criminal justice system in the United States has been subject to various criticisms from various parties. The prison population soared over the past thirty years and continues to grow rapidly. More than 2.3 million people are now incarcerated, and the buildup continues.' At the end of 2005, one in every 136 U.S. residents was incarcerated in state or federal prison or a local level, the highest rate in the history of the United States and in the world.'2 The criminal justice system, like many other top-down social institutions, has been used to segregate and disenfranchise the less fortunate of our citizens.' The obvious divides are along race and class lines, but there are many hidden divisions, such as gender identity. As the prison population grows more diverse, these hidden divisions create more obstacles within the system for the oppressed. Prison abuse is a concern for anyone caught in the system but particularly for individuals that fall under the transgender tent.4 Prior to incarceration, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, public defenders, and the private bar are barriers to fair treatment that must be encountered along the way. Transgender people are susceptible to being caught in the criminal justice system for numerous reasons including misunderstanding, blatant bias, stereotypes, unemployment, underemployment, and the possible intersection of race. There are some common themes that emanate from the transgender experience in the United States criminal justice system. Most of these themes are similar to how people of color, particularly blacks and women, are treated within the criminal justice system.5 I. How TRANS PEOPLE END UP IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM There are numerous reasons that trans people are more susceptible to the criminal justice system. Trans people experience high levels of unemployment or Kylar W. Broadus, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Lincoln University of Missouri. 1. Joan Petersilia, California's Correctional Paradox of Excess and Deprivation, 37 CRIME & JUST. 207, 207 (2008). 2. Id. at 208 (citation omitted). 3. Andrea J. Ritchie & Joey L. Mogul, In the Shadows of the War on Terror: Persistent Police Brutality and Abuse of People of Color in the United States, 1 DEPAUL J. FOR SOC. JUST. 175, 179 (2008) (citation omitted). 4. See generally id. at 203 (noting heightened risk of misconduct in the hands of state authorities for transgender individuals). 5. See id. (observing the disproportionate impact of governmental misconduct toward people of color and transgender people alike).

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