Brock Boone
Randall C. Marshall
ACLU OF ALABAMA
P.O. Box 6179
Montgomery, AL 36106-0179
Rose Saxe
ACLU LGBT & HIV Project / ACLU Foundation
125 Broad St., 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
NORTHERN DIVISION
DARCY CORBITT, DESTINY CLARK,
and JOHN DOE,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
HAL TAYLOR, in his official capacity as
Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement
Agency; Colonel CHARLES WARD, in his
official capacity as Director of the
Department of Public Safety; DEENA
PREGNO, in her official capacity as Chief of
the Driver License Division, and JEANNIE
EASTMAN, in her official capacity as
Driver License Supervisor in the Driver
License Division
Defendants.

)
)
) Civil Action No.
) _________________________
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
) COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY
)
AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
)
)
)
)

Plaintiffs Darcy Corbitt, Destiny Clark, and John Doe1, through their undersigned
attorneys, complain against Defendant Hal Taylor, in his official capacity as Secretary of the
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Charles Ward, in his official capacity as Director of the
Department of Public Health, Deena Pregno, in her official capacity as Chief of the Driver

1

A Motion to Proceed Under a Pseudonym accompanies this Complaint.

1

 License Division, and Jeannie Eastman, in her official capacity as Driver License Supervisor and
supervisor of the Medical Unit in the Driver License Division, as follows:
INTRODUCTION
1.

Defendants are responsible for the establishment and enforcement of a policy that

prevents transgender people in Alabama from obtaining a driver license that reflects their gender,
unless they undergo surgical procedures and disclose information about those procedures to the
government. Under the policy, proof of surgery is required for an accurate driver license
regardless of whether the surgery is necessary, desired, safe, or within the financial means of the
individual.
2.

Defendants accept only some forms of gender-confirming surgery, while rejecting

others. Thus, even when a transgender person has undergone surgery, Defendants may continue
to deny access to a driver license that reflects the gender of the transgender person. Thus,
Defendants’ practice sweeps even further than the language of the already unlawful and
discriminatory policy.
3.

As a result of the state’s driver license policy, many transgender Alabamians

cannot obtain a license that they can use without disclosing highly sensitive information, risking
discrimination and attack, compromising their own health and wellbeing, and endorsing a
message about their gender with which they strongly disagree.
4.

The plaintiffs, Ms. Darcy Corbitt, Ms. Destiny Clark, and Mr. John Doe, have all

been personally harmed by this policy. Ms. Corbitt was loudly called an “it” in a public area of a
crowded driver license office. Ms. Clark avoids lawful activities that could lead her to have to
show her license. Mr. Doe experiences distress whenever he sees the gender listed on his own
license.

2

 5.

The policy is not rationally related to any legitimate purpose, much less narrowly

tailored to serve a compelling one.
6.

Defendants’ policy violates the privacy, due process, free speech, and equal

protection rights of Ms. Corbitt, Ms. Clark, Mr. Doe, and transgender people in Alabama.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE

7.

Jurisdiction is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343 because Plaintiffs seek

redress for the deprivation of rights secured by the Constitution of the United States. Plaintiffs’
federal claims are brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
8.

Plaintiffs’ claims for declaratory and injunctive relief are authorized by 28 U.S.C.

§§ 2201-2202, Fed. R. Civ. P. 57, 65, and the legal and equitable powers of this Court.
9.

Venue is proper in the Middle District of Alabama pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §

1391(b)(2) because this is a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions
giving rise to Plaintiffs’ claims have occurred.
PARTIES

10.

Plaintiff Darcy Corbitt is an adult living in Auburn, Alabama. She is a woman

who has not been able to obtain an Alabama driver license.
11.

Plaintiff Destiny Clark is an adult residing in St. Clair County, Alabama. She is a

woman with an Alabama driver license that wrongly describes her as male.
12.

Plaintiff John Doe is an adult residing in Alabama. He is a man with an Alabama

driver license that wrongly describes him as female.
13.

Defendant Hal Taylor is the Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency

(ALEA). In that capacity, he serves as the executive head of the agency and the head of the
Department of Public Safety. Ala. Code § 41-27-2 (a).

3

 14.

Defendant Charles Ward is the Director of Public Safety within ALEA. In that

capacity he has the power to create rules concerning the operation of motor vehicles in the state.
Ala. Code § 32-6-13.
15.

Defendant Deena Pregno is the Chief of the Driver License Division, a division

within ALEA and the Department of Public Safety. Driver License Policy Order No. 63 (“Policy
Order 63”) states that it is the policy of the Chief of the Driver License Division. See Policy
Order 63, Exhibit A, attached.
16.

Jeannie Eastman supervises the Medical Unit, a unit within the Driver License

Division. In that capacity, she implements and interprets Policy Order 63.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
I.

Policy Order 63
17.

Policy Order 63 provides for changing the gender on a driver license only “due to

gender reassignment surgery,” and requires applicants to submit “[a]n amended state certified
birth certificate and/or a letter from the physician that performed the reassignment procedure.”
18.

Defendants Hal Taylor, Charles Ward, and Deena Pregno, or their predecessors,

caused Policy Order 63 to be issued.
19.

Upon information and belief, Defendants have issued no written guidance

explaining how to apply this policy or defining “gender reassignment surgery.”
20.

Defendant Jeannie Eastman has refused to change the gender marker for a driver

license even when a transgender person has complied with the language of Policy Order 63.
Upon information and belief, Defendants accept only some forms of gender-confirming surgery
as sufficient, while rejecting others as insufficient.

4

 21.

No Alabama statute requires individuals to provide an amended birth certificate to

change an Alabama driver license or non-driver identification card to document a person’s
correct gender.
22.

No Alabama statute requires gender-confirming surgery to update the gender

listed on a state driver license or non-driver identification card.
23.

No Alabama statute refers to gender on driver licenses or non-driver identification

cards. A statute requires that a license contain a color photograph, name, birthdate, address,
signature, and “description of the licensee.” Ala. Code § 32-6-6.
24.

A statute requires gender-confirming surgery to correct the gender on a person’s

Alabama birth certificate. Ala. Code § 22-9A-19(d). That statute does not apply to driver licenses
or non-driver identification cards.
25.

Upon information and belief, Defendants permit applicants to change other

descriptive characteristics, such as height and hair color, on a driver license or non-driver
identification card without any additional documentation or medical certification.
26.

Upon information and belief, Defendants permit transgender people to receive a

driver license that reflects their gender without surgery if and only if they move to Alabama for
the first time after having updated their gender marker in another state that does not require
surgery. That is so because Defendants do not routinely inquire about transgender status,
transgender people moving to Alabama for the first time could present documents that showed
only their actual gender, and Defendants would have no previous records listing a different
gender.
27.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices, by placing onerous, and in many cases

insurmountable, obstacles to prevent transgender persons from correcting the gender listed on
their Alabama driver licenses, stands in contrast with the decisions of the federal government and

5

 numerous states to align the gender listed on a person’s identification documents with the gender
the person lives as every day without requiring proof of any particular medical care. These
decisions are designed to conform policies to current scientific knowledge, the medical standard
of care for treating persons diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and the needs and dignity of
transgender community members.
28.

The U.S. Department of State requires only that a doctor certifies that a person

seeking a gender change on a passport “has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender
transition to the new gender” in order to obtain a passport with the correct gender. 7 Foreign
Affairs Manual 1300 Appendix M (March 31, 2016),
https://fam.state.gov//FAM/07FAM/07FAM1300apM.html.
29.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Veterans Health Administration,

the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Defense, and the Social
Security Administration have similar requirements to change gender markers in their records.
None of these agencies require evidence of surgery. See The Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping,
U.S. Office of Pers. Mgmt. 4.14-15 (2017), http://bit.ly/2FOcwvW; VHA Directive 2013003(4)(b)(1)(b) (2017), https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/publications.cfm?pub=1;
Adjudicator’s Field Manual, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Servs. 10.22,
https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-1067/Chapter1022.html; 32 C.F.R. § 161.23(d) (Table 33) (DoD); Program Operations Manual System, Soc.
Sec. Admin. 10212.200 (2013), https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110212200.
30.

To change the gender marker on a driver license, most states accept a form filled

out by any medical professional, and do not require documentation of any specific form of
medical or surgical treatment. American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, Resource
Guide on Gender Designation on Driver’s Licenses and Identification Cards (2016),
6

 https://www.aamva.org/Best-Practices-and-Model-Legislation/. The American Association of
Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) instructs states to not require surgery, a court order, or
an amended birth certificate. Instead, AAMVA instructs states to accept certification of gender
identity from a variety of licensed providers and to accept passports, birth certificates, or other
identification cards from governmental agencies as an alternative to medical provider
certification. Id. at 4.
31.

Thus, Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices are not required by any state

law, and are at odds with the requirements and recommendations of the federal government, the
majority of state governments, the D.C. government, and AAMVA, as well as with ALEA’s own
policies and practices for other descriptive information. Because transgender people who move
to Alabama for the first time after changing their gender marker in another jurisdiction may not
need to produce evidence of surgery, Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices are not even
consistently applied.
II.

Transgender People, Gender, and Gender Dysphoria
32.

Transgender people are people who have a gender identity different from their

assigned sex at birth.
33.

Gender identity refers to a person’s fundamental, internal sense of belonging to a

particular gender. There is a medical consensus that gender identity is innate and that efforts to
change a person’s gender identity are unethical and harmful to a person’s health and well-being.
34.

According to the American College of Physicians, American Psychiatric

Association, and other major medical organizations, every person has a gender identity, which
“cannot be altered voluntarily” and “cannot be ascertained immediately after birth.” Brief of
Amici Curiae American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, American
College of Physicians, and 17 Additional Medical and Mental Health Organizations in Support

7

 of Respondent at 8, Gloucester Cty. Sch. Bd. v. G.G., No. 16-273, 2017 WL 1057281 at *8
(U.S.).
35.

The gender marker designated on a birth certificate at the time of birth (“assigned

sex at birth”) is almost always based solely on the appearance of an infant’s external genitalia.
36.

When components of sex, including genitalia, chromosomes, hormones,

reproductive anatomy, secondary sex characteristics, and gender identity, do not align as all
typically male or all typically female, a person’s gender identity is what determines the gender a
person lives as, and how the person should be recognized for all social and legal purposes.
37.

Gender dysphoria is a medically-recognized condition defined by a marked

incongruence between a person’s gender identity and the sex they were assigned at birth, when
accompanied by clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of functioning. Many transgender people experience gender dysphoria.
38.

Gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition that, if left untreated, can lead to

debilitating depression, and even suicidal thoughts and acts.
39.

Treatment of gender dysphoria is guided by the Standards of Care (“SOC”) set

forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (“WPATH”), which was
initially published in 1979 and is now in its seventh version. These guidelines reflect the
professional consensus about the psychological, psychiatric, hormonal, and surgical management
of gender dysphoria.
40.

It is the recognized standard of care to address gender dysphoria with treatment

designed to bring a person’s body and expression of gender in line with their gender identity.
This course of treatment has different components depending on the particular needs of each
transgender person. A professional recommends an individualized course of treatment based on
the exercise of professional judgment to achieve the goal of reducing a patient’s gender
8

 dysphoria. As with other forms of healthcare, the patient considers the information from the
provider and makes treatment decisions in consultation with that provider.
Treatment for gender dysphoria – sometimes called gender reassignment – does

41.

not “change” a person’s gender. Instead, it brings a person’s social interactions, appearance, and
body into greater alignment with the person’s already-existing gender identity, which helps to
alleviate the distress associated with gender dysphoria. Treatment for gender dysphoria may
involve one or more of hormone treatment, non-surgical voice therapy, supportive
psychotherapy, social transition, or gender-confirming surgery or surgeries.
Social transition involves shifting one’s presentation and social functioning so

42.

that it is consistent with one’s gender identity. Typically, it involves some or all of the following:
a.

Change in clothing, hair, or appearance;

b. Change of name;
c. Change in pronouns (i.e., “she” “he” or “they”);
d. Change in participating in gender-specific activities, events, or spaces; and
e. Change of the gender marker on identifying documents, including driver license
and passport.
43.

Thus, treatment for gender dysphoria includes living one’s life consistently with

one’s gender identity, including using identity documents that reflect one’s gender identity.
44.

Forcing transgender people to use identity documents that do not match their

gender identity, or forcing them to go without identity documents, is inconsistent with medical
protocols. It can cause anxiety and distress to the transgender person and result in discrimination
and violence against them.
45.

A driver license is a critically important form of identification. For many people,

a driver license makes it possible for them to secure a job and otherwise care for their needs and

9

 the needs of their family. This is especially true in places like Alabama where most people need
to drive every day to go to work, school, stores, doctors’ offices, or visits with friends and
family, and where identification is required to vote.
46.

Recognizing the importance of identification documents, the American Medical

Association has adopted a policy urging states to eliminate any requirement that transgender
people have surgery in order to amend their birth certificates. Conforming Birth Certificate
Policies to Current Medical Standards for Transgender Patients H-65.967, Am. Med. Ass’n
(2014), http://bit.ly/2EhkCQy.
47.

Additionally, for those who have struggled for years with the impact of external

invalidation of their identity, the knowledge that one’s identification documents label one with
the wrong gender can, by itself, cause serious psychological injury.
48.

While social transition is adequate to treat gender dysphoria for some transgender

people, others need one or more other forms of treatment, such as hormone treatment, supportive
psychotherapy, non-surgical voice therapy, or gender-confirming surgery or surgeries.
49.

Gender-confirming surgeries may include augmentation mammoplasty, chest

reconstruction surgery, facial feminization surgery, hysterectomy, orchiectomy, vaginoplasty,
metaoidioplasty, phalloplasty, and other procedures.
50.

In a recent survey, chest reconstruction surgery was the most common form of

treatment other than hormone therapy, counseling, and social transition among men who are
transgender. See Sandy E. James, et. al, The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey 101
(2016), http://bit.ly/2BXZcma (“USTS”). Among women who are transgender, laser hair
removal or electrolysis was the most common other form of treatment, followed by nonsurgical
voice therapy, vaginoplasty with labiaplasty, and augmentation mammoplasty, in that order. Id.
at 102.
10

 51.

Like all surgical procedures, gender-confirming surgeries involve some risk. Also,

while some gender-confirming surgeries have little or no impact on physical reproductive
capacity, others permanently eliminate reproductive capacity.
52.

Gender-confirming surgery is not medically necessary for all transgender people.

For some, surgery is not only unnecessary but also medically contraindicated. Additionally, for
many, surgery is cost-prohibitive.
53.

Among those who do receive gender-confirming surgery, the specific procedure

or procedures received vary based on individual needs. Some transgender people need several
surgical procedures in treatment for gender dysphoria, while others need none, one, or two.
54.

Only about one-quarter of transgender people report having had any form of

gender-confirming surgery. USTS at 100.
55.

Like other major healthcare decisions – especially those that may involve

invasive procedures, impact on one’s reproductive options, possible relief of significant
suffering, and possible complications—decisions about gender-confirming surgery are
profoundly personal.
56.

Transgender people often risk harassment, harm, and social stigma when others

learn that they are transgender.
57.

The transgender community is more likely to suffer abuse, harassment,

discrimination, and violence than the population at large. According to the USTS:
a. Around a quarter (24%) of respondents had been physically attacked in a K-12
school because people thought they were transgender, with higher rates for
American Indian (49%), Middle Eastern (36%), multiracial (31%), and Black
(28%) respondents. In Alabama specifically, 13% of respondents faced such
severe mistreatment that they left a K-12 school.

11

 b. In the year prior to completing the survey, 27% of respondents who had a job
reported being fired, denied a promotion, or experiencing some other form of
mistreatment in the workplace due to their gender identity or expression. That
number was similar (26%) among Alabama respondents only.
c. Nearly half (47%) of respondents had been sexually assaulted during their
lifetime, with higher rates for American Indian (65%), multiracial (59%), Middle
Eastern (58%), and Black (53%) respondents.
d. Among respondents who had interacted with police, 58% of those whom the
police perceived as transgender experienced some form of mistreatment. The rate
was similar (57%) in Alabama. Rates were higher for American Indian (74%),
multiracial (71%), Latino/a (66%), Black (61%), and disabled (68%) respondents.
e. Thirty-nine percent of respondents experienced serious psychological distress in
the month prior to completing the survey, compared with only 5% of the U.S.
population. Among Alabama respondents only, 45% experienced serious
psychological distress in the month prior to completing the survey.
f. Forty percent of respondents attempted suicide in their lifetime—nearly nine
times the attempted suicide rate in the U.S. population (4.6%).
58.

People are often asked to show a driver license to verify their identity. A driver

license that fails to match one’s gender leads to the disclosure of private, intimate information
about one’s transgender status, and it often leads to physical harm, harassment, discrimination, or
groundless accusations of fraud.
59.

Twenty-five percent of transgender people were verbally harassed, 16% denied

services or benefits, 9% asked to leave a location or establishment, and 2% assaulted or attacked
after showing identification with a name or gender marker that did not match their gender
12

 presentation. USTS at 82. The rates of assault and attack were twice as high for Black
transgender people, three times as high for American Indian transgender people, and almost five
times as high for Middle Eastern transgender people. Id. at 90. In Alabama specifically, 28% of
respondents had had one or more of these negative experiences after showing identification that
did not match their gender presentation. Only 9% of Alabama respondents had their gender
correctly listed on all their identification documents, while 80% of respondents had no
identification document that correctly listed their gender.
Policy Order 63’s Impact on Plaintiffs

III.

Darcy Corbitt
60.

Plaintiff Darcy Corbitt is a 25-year-old woman who lives in Auburn, Alabama.

Corbitt Photo, Exhibit B, attached.
61.

Ms. Corbitt is transgender. She was assigned male at birth, and she has known she

was female since preschool.
62.

Ms. Corbitt was born in Louisiana, but grew up in Alabama. She moved to North

Dakota as a young adult, where she founded a not-for-profit organization that she still runs.
63.

Ms. Corbitt has completed a legal name change.

64.

While living in North Dakota, Ms. Corbitt began updating the gender listed for

her in government records. Her North Dakota driver license, United States passport, and Social
Security records now reflect her gender as female.
65.

When Ms. Corbitt received a license and passport that accurately reflected her

female gender, she was moved to tears. In the weeks that followed, she felt like a burden had
lifted from her shoulders.
66.

Because Ms. Corbitt is perceived as a woman in her day-to-day life, every time

she had to show a driver license that listed “male,” she was forced to disclose that she was

13

 transgender. She feared violence or other negative reactions. Ms. Corbitt has received death
threats for speaking out on transgender issues in the past.
67.

As a result, before her gender was updated on her driver license, Ms. Corbitt tried

to avoid situations where she would have to show identification. With a driver license listing her
as female, she no longer had to avoid making large purchases, ordering alcohol in restaurants, or
doing any other activities that required identification. When she did show her driver license, she
no longer felt embarrassed, ashamed, or afraid.
68.

In the summer of 2017, Ms. Corbitt returned to Alabama to attend graduate school

at Auburn University, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in developmental psychology.
69.

In August 2017, Ms. Corbitt visited the Lee County Driver License Office to

obtain an Alabama license to replace her North Dakota license. At first, the clerk in the office
referred to Ms. Corbitt correctly as a woman and treated her with courtesy and respect. When the
clerk reviewed agency records from when Ms. Corbitt lived in Alabama previously, she saw that
Ms. Corbitt had been listed as male. Her demeanor changed abruptly.
70.

The clerk prepared paperwork to issue Ms. Corbitt an Alabama driver license

listing her gender as male. The clerk asked Ms. Corbitt to review the papers and sign to verify
that the information was accurate. Ms. Corbitt explained that she could not do so because the
gender information was not accurate.
71.

The clerk began referring to Ms. Corbitt as a “he” and an “it.” She asked Ms.

Corbitt for personal information about her anatomy and medical history. The clerk spoke to the
clerk’s direct supervisor as well as a supervisor at a central ALEA office about Ms. Corbitt’s
gender. The clerk did all of this loudly, in front of many other people in the office. The clerk
declined to issue Ms. Corbitt an Alabama driver license listing her gender as female. Ms. Corbitt
left the office without an Alabama driver license.
14

 72.

Ms. Corbitt has completed all necessary medical treatment for her gender

dysphoria at this time. She wishes to make future treatment decisions free from government
coercion through policies or practices requiring her to have surgery to obtain a driver license.
73.

Ms. Corbitt would have liked to consider relocating to Alabama permanently after

completing her studies. However, doing so would require her to trade in her North Dakota
license for an Alabama license. Ala. Code § 32-6-1(a). Because of Policy Order 63, Ms. Corbitt
does not believe it would be possible for her to remain in the state permanently without
sacrificing her safety, privacy, autonomy, and dignity.
Destiny Clark
74.

Plaintiff Destiny Clark is a 33-year-old woman who lives in Saint Clair County,

Alabama. Clark Photo, Exhibit C, attached.
75.

Ms. Clark is transgender. She was assigned male at birth, and she knows herself

to be female.
76.

Ms. Clark grew up in Saint Clair County. She moved away as a young adult, but

returned to care for her father when he was ill. Ms. Clark works in a restaurant and has a
leadership role in a community organization.
77.

Ms. Clark has completed a legal name change, and she has corrected her gender

with the Social Security Administration.
78.

Ms. Clark has tried to change the gender listed on her Alabama license multiple

79.

First, Ms. Clark went to the Pell City driver license office in Saint Clair County.

times.

There, a clerk told her that they could not help her, and she would have to contact the Medical
Unit in Montgomery.

15

 80.

Ms. Clark contacted the Medical Unit, where she spoke to Defendant Jeannie

Eastman. Ms. Eastman advised her to fax her medical documentation. Ms. Clark did so.
81.

Ms. Eastman informed Ms. Clark that the medical documentation was not

sufficient, and that her doctor would have to provide more specific information. Ms. Clark
obtained an additional letter from her doctor with more information, and sent the letter to Ms.
Eastman.
82.

Having not heard back from Ms. Eastman, Ms. Clark called her to check on the

status of the letter. Ms. Eastman told Ms. Clark that the treatment was inadequate according to
policy and that she did not want to change the gender on her license.
83.

Later, Ms. Clark had medically necessary gender-confirming surgery. She sent a

letter to Ms. Eastman from her surgeon to that effect.
84.

Upon information and belief, Ms. Eastman or an individual working under the

supervision of Ms. Eastman called Ms. Clark’s surgeon’s office, identified themselves as a
government official, and requested and received detailed information about Ms. Clark’s surgery,
including the type of anesthesia administered and the exact procedures performed. Ms. Clark did
not give permission for this information to be shared.
85.

Even with proof of surgery, Ms. Eastman informed Ms. Clark that she would not

change Ms. Clark’s license. Ms. Eastman claimed that her decision was required by policy, but
did not explain how.
86.

Ms. Clark’s license still wrongly lists her gender as male. As a result, Ms. Clark

experiences a high level of anxiety going about her daily life.
87.

During a traffic stop in Odenville, a police officer treated Ms. Clark politely when

asking for her license. After seeing her license, though, the officer became hostile and accusing.

16

 88.

Ms. Clark tries to avoid using her license as much as possible. She does not go to

clubs or bars where she believes she will be asked to show identification. She does not order
alcohol in restaurants. If she wants to buy alcohol in a store, she asks her boyfriend to buy it for
her so she will not have to show her driver license.
89.

Because Ms. Clark is typically perceived as a woman, any time she shows her

license, the person seeing it observes the male gender designation and learns that she is
transgender. As a woman who is transgender, Ms. Clark is at a high risk of discrimination and
violence. The wrong gender on her driver license increases that risk.
John Doe
90.

John Doe is a man living in Alabama. Because of concerns about his privacy and

safety, he seeks to proceed in this case under a pseudonym. See Motion to Proceed Under a
Pseudonym.
91.

Mr. Doe is transgender. He was assigned female at birth, and he knows himself to

be male.
92.

Mr. Doe was born and raised in Alabama, and he currently lives and works full

time in Alabama.
93.

Mr. Doe went to the Probate License main office in Montgomery to update his

name on his license, and asked for information on how to correct his gender marker. The clerk
told him he would have to supply proof of surgery.
94.

Mr. Doe has received medical treatment for gender dysphoria, but he has not

received any surgical treatment. While he believes one form of surgical treatment will be
necessary for him, he is not yet eligible for insurance coverage for the procedure.
95.

Because he believes it would be futile, Mr. Doe has not applied to change his

gender marker on his Alabama driver license.

17

 96.

Mr. Doe considers his transgender identity and assigned sex at birth to be highly

sensitive, personal information. He wishes to keep this information consistently private.
97.

Mr. Doe has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and depression.

98.

Whenever Mr. Doe pulls his license out of his wallet, he sees the female gender

marker, which causes him pain he finds difficult to describe. It sends him into a tailspin,
aggravating his gender dysphoria and depression.
99.

Because he is typically perceived as male, whenever Mr. Doe shows his driver

license to someone, that person observes that his gender is designated as female and begins to
question whether Mr. Doe’s driver license is real or whether Mr. Doe’s gender is truly male.
Typically, people who see his driver license learn that he is transgender.
100.

When people refer to him as if he were female upon seeing his driver license, Mr.

Doe’s symptoms of gender dysphoria and depression intensify.
101.

When Mr. Doe traveled internationally using a passport that incorrectly

designated him as female, on three occasions customs or security officers were confused by the
contrast between the gender listed on his passport and his appearance. This confusion led to
officers questioning him loudly about his gender in front of others, causing stress,
embarrassment, and delay.
102.

As a Black man who is transgender, Mr. Doe is at high risk of experiencing

discrimination and violence. He wants to minimize the chances that he will experience
discrimination or violence. He believes that having a driver license that matches his gender will
reduce the chances that he will face discrimination or violence when applying to jobs or graduate
schools, as well as in other situations.
CLAIMS FOR RELIEF UNDER 42 U.S.C. § 1983
COUNT I
18

 POLICY ORDER 63 VIOLATES PLAINTIFFS’ RIGHT TO PRIVACY
103.

Plaintiffs re-allege paragraphs 1 through 102 as if fully set forth herein.

104.

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment places limitations on state

action that deprives individuals of life, liberty, or property.
105.

Substantive protections of the Due Process Clause include the right to avoid

disclosure of sensitive, personal information.
106.

Plaintiffs have a fundamental right of privacy in preventing the release of, and in

deciding in what circumstances to release: (1) personal information whose release could subject
them to bodily harm; and (2) information of a highly personal and intimate nature.
107.

The Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices force Ms. Clark and Mr. Doe to

disclose highly personal information—that they are transgender—to each person who sees their
driver license. Given the high rates of violence against transgender people, this disclosure places
Ms. Clark and Mr. Doe at risk of bodily harm. Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices
condition Ms. Corbitt’s receipt of an Alabama driver license on being forced to make such
disclosures.
108.

No compelling state interest is furthered by Policy Order 63 and Defendants’

practices, nor are they narrowly tailored or the least restrictive alternative for promoting a state
interest. Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices are not even rationally related to a legitimate
state interest.
109.

In addition, Plaintiffs’ privacy interests outweigh any purported interest the

Defendants could assert.
COUNT II

19

 POLICY ORDER 63 VIOLATES PLAINTIFFS’ LIBERTY INTEREST IN REFUSING
UNWANTED MEDICAL TREATMENT
110.

Plaintiffs re-allege paragraphs 1 through 102 as if fully set forth herein.

111.

The Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause protects individuals’

substantive rights to be free to make certain private decisions without unjustified governmental
intrusion.
112.

The right to make certain private decisions without unjustified governmental

intrusion includes the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment.
113.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices force transgender people who live in

Alabama either to undergo certain kinds of gender-confirming surgery to secure a correct driver
license or endanger their health and safety with an incorrect driver license.
114.

Not all transgender people undergo gender-confirming surgery. For some, the

surgery is not medically necessary or even safe. Many do not have health insurance coverage and
cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket. Of those who do receive surgical treatment, not all need or
receive the same surgical treatment. While some need and receive multiple forms of genderconfirming surgery, others need and receive only one procedure.
115.

Ms. Corbitt has not yet determined whether she wants and needs any gender-

confirming surgery. She wishes to make this important, intimate healthcare decision without
being pushed into a certain outcome by the government. She also wishes to obtain a driver
license without having to disclose to the government intimate medical information irrelevant to
her ability to drive.
116.

Ms. Clark has had gender-confirming surgery, but Defendants have refused to

accept her surgery as sufficient. No further gender confirming surgery is medically necessary for
her or desired by her.
20

 117.

Mr. Doe believes that one form of gender-confirming surgery will likely be

necessary for him, but has not yet obtained it. No other forms of gender-confirming surgery are
necessary for him or desired by him.
118.

As a result of not having had gender-confirming surgery, Ms. Corbitt and Mr. Doe

are unable to secure an Alabama driver license that accurately reflects their gender, and that they
can use without risk to their health and safety. As a result of not having had a type of genderconfirming surgery Defendants find acceptable, Ms. Clark also is unable to secure an Alabama
driver license that accurately reflects her gender, and that she can use without risk to her health
and safety.
119.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices are neither narrowly tailored nor the

least restrictive alternative to further a compelling government interest and therefore violate the
liberty interests of Ms. Corbitt, Ms. Clark, and Mr. Doe. Nor are Policy Order 63 and
Defendants’ practices rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest.
COUNT III
POLICY ORDER 63 VIOLATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT

120.

Plaintiffs re-allege paragraphs 1 through 102 as if fully set forth herein.

121.

The First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging

the freedom of speech.” U.S. Const. amend. I. It is made applicable to the states through the
Fourteenth Amendment. U.S. Const. amend. XIV.
122.

The First Amendment protects the right to speak and to refrain from speaking.

123.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices violate the First Amendment rights of

Ms. Clark and Mr. Doe to refrain from speaking by forcing them to disclose to each person who
sees their license private information about their transgender status and their medical condition,

21

 and by forcing them to identify themselves to each person who sees their license by a gender that
conflicts with their core identity.
124.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices further violate the First Amendment

rights of Ms. Clark and Mr. Doe to refrain from speaking by forcing them to endorse the
government’s position on their own gender, as well as on the meaning of gender generally,
through the license they must carry daily and show to others. The gender marker listed on Ms.
Clark’s and Mr. Doe’s license conveys the state’s ideological message that gender is determined
solely by the appearance of external genitals at the time of birth unless modified through certain
surgical procedures, a message with which Ms. Clark and Mr. Doe vehemently disagree.
125.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices violate Ms. Corbitt’s First Amendment

rights to refrain from speaking by denying her access to an Alabama driver license unless she
signs a form stating something is true that she knows to be false, and then carries a license that
forces her to make unwanted personal disclosures, identify herself in a way that conflicts with
who she knows herself to be, and endorse a government message about her own gender and
gender in general with which she strongly disagrees.
126.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices do not further any compelling state

interest, nor are they narrowly tailored or the least restrictive alternative for promoting a state
interest.
COUNT IV
POLICY ORDER 63 VIOLATES EQUAL PROTECTION
127.

Plaintiffs re-allege paragraphs 1 through 102 as if fully set forth herein.

128.

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state

shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” U.S. Const.
amend. 14, § 1.
22

 129.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices are directed solely at transgender

people and discriminate against them on the basis of sex, as well as on the basis of transgender
status.
130.

Defendants deprive transgender people, and only transgender people, access to a

driver license that they can use without sacrificing their privacy, health, safety, dignity, and
autonomy.
131.

The differential treatment of transgender people furthers no compelling or

important government interest, nor is the differential treatment narrowly tailored, substantially
related to, or the least restrictive alternative for promoting a state interest. Nor is there even a
rational connection between any legitimate governmental interest and Defendants’ disparate
treatment of transgender people.
132.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices are subject to heightened scrutiny

because they are based on sex and transgender status.
133.

Policy Order 63 and Defendants’ practices are invalid under any form of

constitutional scrutiny because they were put in place for the improper purpose of
disadvantaging a specific class, are founded in animus toward transgender Alabamians, and serve
no legitimate governmental interest.
LACK OF LEGAL REMEDY
134.

Plaintiffs’ harm is ongoing and cannot be alleviated except by injunctive relief.

135.

No other remedy is available at law.

RELIEF REQUESTED
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs request that this Court:

23

 (1) Issue a judgment, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201-2202, declaring Policy Order 63 and
Defendants’ practice of refusing to update the gender marker on driver licenses of
transgender people unconstitutional for the reasons and on the counts set forth above;
(2) Permanently enjoin Defendants from enforcing Policy Order 63 unless and until it has
been revised to comply with constitutional requirements;
(3) Order Defendants to change the gender marker on Alabama driver licenses for otherwiseeligible transgender people who seek such change;
(4) Award Plaintiffs their costs and attorneys’ fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988; and
(5) Grant such other relief as the Court finds just and proper.

Respectfully submitted this 6th day of February 2018.

_____________________________
Brock Boone
Randall C. Marshall
ACLU OF ALABAMA
P.O. Box 6179
Montgomery, AL 36106-0179
(334) 265-2754
bboone@aclualabama.org
rmarshall@aclualabama.org
Rose Saxe
ACLU LGBT & HIV Project / ACLU Foundation
125 Broad St., 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
(212) 549-2605
rsaxe@aclu.org
Pro Hac Vice Application Pending

24

 Exhibit A

ALABAMA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY

Revised Date: 07?01-2015 Driver License Policy Order 63

Source: Legal Unit

SUBJECT: CHANGING SEX ON A DRIVER LICENSE DUE
TO GENDER REASSIGNMENT

it is the policy of the Chief of the Driver License Division that an individual
wishing to have the sex changed on their Alabama driver license due to gender
reassignment surgery are required to submit to an Examining of?ce OR the
Medical Unit the following:

1. An amended state certi?ed birth certi?cate and/or a letter from the
physician that performed the reassignment procedure. The letter must be
on the physician?s letterhead.

IF THE INDIVIDUAL INITIALLY REPORTS TO AN EXAM OFFICE FOR
THE GENDER CHANGE:

1. The examiner is to review the document(s) presented for authenticity and
contact the medical unit in order to make the necessary system change.

2. If a physician letter is presented, there is no need to contact the physician
unless there is some doubt as to the authenticity of the letter. Many of the

surgeries are performed in other countries.

3. After the system changes are completed, the examiner will then scan the
documents presented into the driver record, and issue the person a
corrected
duplicate license (if not renewal time) for the duplicate fee.

4. The documents presented are to be given back to the applicant.

IF THE REQUEST IS MAILED TO THE MEDICAL UNIT: The medical unit will;

1. Review the document(s) for authenticity. The letter does NOT have to be
submitted by the physician?s of?ce, the subject may send it in.

2. Make the necessary system updates (changing gender) and place a
comment referencing the changes in the driver history.

3. The document(s) presented will be mailed back to the subject along with
a letter informing the subject they can obtain a duplicate online or by
visiting an ALEA or probate/license of?ce.

4. The letter to the subject and the document(s) presented are to be scanned
into the driver history.

121

Exhibit 

 

Exhibit 

A