McKibben v. McMahon is a federal class action lawsuit against San Bernardino County over discriminatory policies at the West Valley Detention Center that deny gay, bisexual and transgender inmates equal access. The suit was filed by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) and the law firm of Kaye, McLane, Bednarski & Litt, LLP. It charges the county’s policy is unconstitutional and violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection to all individuals.
Currently, individuals held in the jail’s general population area have access to myriad services, including work and rehabilitative programs that allow inmates to earn time credits and reduce their sentences. Individuals who are gay, bisexual and transgender were housed in the “alternative lifestyle tank,” where they had been denied access to those same programs. As a result, individuals who are gay, bisexual and transgender had been forced to serve longer sentences than other inmates convicted of the exact same offense.
Case Developments
We are looking for people who were housed in the Alternative Lifestyle Tank of the West Valley Detention Center (a San Bernardino County jail) between October 22, 2012 and March 31, 2018. If this was your experience, please visit altsettlement.com for more information on how you can receive a portion of the settlement money.
Download a claims form: English | Spanish
Claims forms are due January 7, 2019
Contact us: 1-844-877-5925 or info@ALTSettlement.com
A proposed settlement has been reached between the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and plaintiffs, represented by ACLU SoCal and Kaye, McLane, Bednarski & Litt, LLP. It commits the County to expand housing options for incarcerated gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people; to lift restrictions on participation in work, educational, religious, and community re-entry programs; to enforce a no-tolerance policy for harassment; and to improve access to medical treatment. The parties are awaiting court approval of the settlement. Read the settlement agreement.
Plaintiffs bring this action as a class action and seek injunctive relief and damages under both state and federal law. Read the second amended complaint.
ACLU SoCal and co-counsel Kaye, McLane, Bednarski & Litt, LLP sued San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon and the county over discriminatory policies at the West Valley Detention Center that deny gay, bisexual and transgender inmates equal access to work, recreation and rehabilitative programs solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Read the complaint.
