Fighting for Gender-Affirming Names for Incarcerated Trans People in Missouri

Years ago, we learned about a judge in a rural Missouri county who was routinely denying name change requests from incarcerated trans people. In many cases, those denials were based on a cruel technicality: the judge would deny their request to appear at a hearing, then deny the name change because they didn’t appear. This was not only unnecessary (many counties don’t require a hearing at all), but also deeply unjust. 

We stepped in. 

Our goal was threefold: 

1. Educate judges in rural counties on the right to a legal name change 
2. Increase the number of attorneys handling name changes 
3. Develop resources to empower and deepen our relationships with impacted people 
   

Educating Judges in Rural Counties on the Right to a Legal Name Change 

Over time, we’ve made real progress. In one case, we successfully overturned a wrongful denial where there was no evidence that the name change would harm anyone. We also worked directly with the Missouri Department of Corrections (MoDOC) to secure a general affidavit stating that name changes aren’t administratively burdensome. That affidavit can now be used in future cases to assuage judges’ concerns that name changes would have a negative impact on prison administration. 

We stood before the judge who had once blocked so many requests, and we watched over time his willingness to increase name changes without fuss or delay. More name changes were granted, more swiftly and with less friction. We also pushed for updates to systems like Securus (the prison email platform) so people wouldn’t be deadnamed every time they sent or received a message. 

But we knew we couldn’t do this work alone. 

Increasing the Number of Attorneys Handling Name Changes 

We learned from others – like the law firm Shook Hardy & Bacon – who had been working on name change cases on the other side of the state. Here in St. Louis, we leveraged our relationships with law firms and law schools to develop a robust database of pro bono attorneys to whom we could refer potential name change clients. We created detailed questionnaires to streamline the referral process and equipped new volunteers with all the tools they needed. This past spring, Amy led a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) training with the Missouri Bar, which sparked even more interest from attorneys eager to help. 

And while we built capacity, we also empowered transgender people to have some control over their own identities, and to make advocating for themselves much easier. 

Developing Resources and Deepen our Relationships with Impacted People 

We created a pro se guide: a step-by-step toolkit for changing your name while incarcerated in Missouri. This guide is a direct result of collaboration between our attorneys, clients, and advocates, and we’re incredibly proud of it. It makes a muddy legal process transparent. With it, impacted people no longer need to be able to afford an attorney, and no longer have to wait for a pro bono attorney to become available, to obtain a gender-affirming name change.

See the Pro Se Name Change Guide

Alongside this legal work, we’ve built lasting relationships with trans people across the Missouri prison system. We’ve maintained contact with nearly 60 individuals who have informed our advocacy, participated in surveys, and helped us push for meaningful changes without needing to go to court. 

This work has been deeply collaborative, with so many team members stepping in to draft petitions, send out certified judgments, and ensure birth certificates are updated. We’re grateful to Elyse Meyer, Pat Mobley, Shubra Ohri, Mary Claire Sorensen, Diamond King, and our former interns Jamitra Fulleord and Anna Wright. Also, see Cynthia West’s powerful blog post on the impact of gender-affirming names, featuring quotes from clients themselves. 

This has been a many years-long effort. We’re proud to be in solidarity with incarcerated trans people in their fight for recognition, justice, and freedom.