PROFILE / ALUMNUS
Course to the Court Alum Mollie Lee takes a front-row seat in landmark gay marriage case By Dav id gulliver
When Mollie Lee got her New College degree in anthro-
pology and biology in 1999, she expected it might take her back to field work in the rainforest. Instead, it took her to the U.S. Supreme Court as an attorney with a front-row seat in a landmark gay marriage case. Lee was part of the team from the San Francisco City Attorney’s office that fought for the rights of same-sex couples for nearly a decade. They were rewarded June 26 with a ruling that in effect legalized gay marriage in California. She joined the team midway through the fight, but in time for a crucial stage: The challenge in federal court to California’s Proposition 8, which had banned gay marriage in the state. They won a major battle in August 2010, when U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the voter initiative violated the U.S. Constitution. That triggered an appeal and legal maneuvering that eventually sent the case to the U.S.
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Supreme Court in March. Lee and her colleagues traveled to Washington for the oral arguments. “It was awe-inspiring to be in the highest court in the land and hear arguments on a case I’d been on since the beginning,” she said. It started with her arrival that morning, seeing crowds of people outside, many of whom had camped out all night in the snow, hoping for a seat or simply wanting to be on hand for the historic case. Inside the court, she said, it was a study in contrasts. “On the one hand, it’s very solemn, with the high ceilings and the justices in their huge chairs. And yet they seemed very much like real people, genuinely wrestling with the issue. They are nine people who are doing their best.” Her journey to that day began in many ways at New College, where Lee studied anthropology and biology with her advisor