Court Rejects WoLF’s Amicus Brief Defending Women in Federal Prisons
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has rejected the Women’s Liberation Front’s (WoLF) motion and amicus brief in Jane Doe v. Pamela Bondi, the case challenging the executive order that required male inmates in federal prisons to be housed in men’s facilities, even if they identify as women or non-binary.
The denial means there is still nothing on the record representing the interests of the women who are most directly affected by this policy — the women currently living behind bars alongside violent male offenders.
This is not justice. This is not transparency. And it is certainly not equal protection under the law.
A Silenced Voice for Women Behind Bars
WoLF’s amicus brief, filed along with a motion for leave to participate, was the only submission in the case focused exclusively on the safety, privacy, and dignity of incarcerated women. Our brief detailed the lived realities of women who have been sexually assaulted, intimidated, and silenced by men who gained access to women’s facilities under the Department of Justice’s revised prison policies.
But the court refused to accept it.
Even during oral arguments on September 26, 2025, judges acknowledged that there was no record before them discussing how the policy affects the women forced to live with male inmates. One judge explicitly referenced our brief, noting that it addressed “issues not otherwise raised in the record.”
And yet, they denied our motion to file it anyway.
This is not how the judiciary is supposed to function. Courts are supposed to examine all sides of an issue — especially when the people whose rights are at stake have no voice in the litigation. Instead, this court has ensured that the voices of imprisoned women will remain unheard.
The Case: Jane Doe v. Bondi
The underlying case challenges the 2025 executive order, which restored single-sex housing in federal prisons by requiring that inmates be placed based on biological sex. The plaintiffs — advocacy groups representing trans-identifying male inmates — argue that excluding males from women’s facilities is unconstitutional. But no party in the case represents the women whose privacy, safety, and autonomy are being sacrificed by these policies.
Oral arguments before the D.C. Circuit revealed that even the judges were frustrated by the absence of evidence about the real-world effects of housing males with women. When the court’s own panel admits that critical information is missing, it is indefensible to reject the only brief that supplies it.
A System Rigged Against Women
WoLF’s late filing was not a result of neglect, but of deliberate exclusion. The case was quietly moved forward with notice only to insider organizations — groups that already supported the inclusion of men in women’s prisons. None of them spoke for women.
WoLF sought to correct that record by filing a motion to submit our amicus brief, which documented the sexual assaults, intimidation, and degradation women endure when forced to live with male prisoners. But the court denied it without explanation.
When powerful institutions conspire to silence women — especially those with the least power of all — that is not procedural fairness. It is institutional misogyny.
Women in Prison Deserve Representation
Every level of government claims to care about “equity” and “inclusion.” Yet when the question is whether female inmates should be protected from male offenders, the system suddenly goes silent.
These women — many survivors of male violence — have no lobbyists, no corporate allies, and no political favor to trade. WoLF is proud to stand with them. But this court’s refusal to hear their side proves what we have been saying for years:
Women are being erased from the law itself.
WoLF Will Not Be Silenced
WoLF’s amicus brief was not written for publicity — it was written for the women whose lives and safety are being ignored by their government. We will continue to expose the injustice of housing men in women’s prisons, and we will not stop until sex-based rights are restored.
The law must recognize that women are a sex, not a feeling, and that forcing women to share intimate spaces with male offenders is a violation of their constitutional rights.
If courts won’t allow us to speak in their proceedings, we’ll speak everywhere else — and we’ll make sure the world hears us.
Help WoLF Defend Women’s Rights
Our WoLF Attorney Resource Network (WARN) supports attorneys seeking to defend women’s sex-based rights, including the rights of women in prison to be housed with safety and dignity in a single-sex environment.
Our work depends on your support. By donating to WoLF, you help us continue bringing women’s voices into the courts, legislatures, and public debate where they are desperately needed.
Donate to WoLF today and stand with us in defending women and girls.