Transgender Inmate Seeking $806K In Legal Costs

The convicted murderer who won a court ruling ordering the state to fund her sex change operation is now seeking more than $800,000 in additional state money to cover legal costs.

Attorneys for Michelle Kosilek requested $644,573 in attorneys fees and $161,873 for out-of-pocket costs for the case against the Massachusetts Department of Correction in a filing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston.

The state is appealing the ruling by Judge Mark Wolf that Kosilek is entitled to gender reassignment surgery because she suffers from a condition known as gender identity disorder.

"This hard fought struggle has involved a uniquely unpopular cause... and its inevitable companion — a fusillade of publicity — has hardended the Department of Correction’s resolve to fight to the last redoubt necessary medical treatment for Michelle Lynne Kosilek," lawyer Frances Cohen wrote.

The request for legal fees demonstrates the frustration of Kosilek's legal team over the state's appeal.

"Plaintiff offered to waive attorneys’ fees if the [Department of Correction] would agree to comply with this Court’s judgment and to provide Kosilek with sexual reassignment surgery. Even before the parties’ meeting, Defendant announced his appeal," Cohen wrote in the filing.

Earlier: