Dee Farmer v. Edward Brennan, Warden, et al., is a landmark U.S Supreme Court case that established the rights of incarcerated individuals to be protected from harm while in custody. The plaintiff, Dee Farmer, was a transgender woman who sued federal prison officials for failing to protect her from sexual assault and violence by other inmates at USP Terre Haute - a high-security all-male prison where she was housed according to her biological sex. She argued this violated her Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment. In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Farmer stating that deliberate indifference by prison authorities towards an inmate's safety constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment". This ruling set precedent for future cases involving prisoner rights and has been instrumental in shaping policies regarding the treatment of transgender prisoners.

In the dissenting opinion for Dee Farmer v. Edward Brennan, Warden, et al., Justice Thomas argued that the majority's decision expanded Eighth Amendment protections beyond their original intent. He contended that Farmer had not been subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment" as she was not directly harmed by prison officials but rather by other inmates. Furthermore, he asserted that a risk of future harm does not constitute an actual violation of rights under the Eighth Amendment unless it results in serious physical injury or extreme pain. In his view, this interpretation would lead to an influx of lawsuits from prisoners claiming potential risks without substantial evidence of immediate danger or harm inflicted upon them.