UCLA Law Team Wins National Moot Court Competition This year, UCLA Law hosted the Ninth Annual Williams Institute Moot Court Competition. Thirty-seven teams from law schools across the country competed in the only national competition dedicated exclusively to the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity law. With United States District Court, Central District of California Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, Colorado Supreme Court Justice Monica M. Márquez and Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice Sabrina S. McKenna presiding, the two final teams from UCLA and
Final round moot court judges and team members from UCLA Law and Stanford Law
Stanford law schools argued the constitutional implications of segregating transgender people in prison. UCLA Law’s team, consisting of Tasha Hill ’14 and Lauren Schweitzer ’14, prevailed, and Hill won the award for Best Oral Advocate.
Williams Institute Commemorates Anniversaries of Roe v. Wade and Lawrence v. Texas In 2013, the Williams Institute commemorated the anniversaries of two landmark Supreme Court decisions—Roe v. Wade
and Lawrence v. Texas. In January, the Williams Institute hosted
“Liberty/Equality: The View from Roe’s 40th and Lawrence’s 10th Anniversaries” in partnership with the American Constitution
Society for Law & Policy. The conference brought together the nation’s leading law experts on gender and sexuality at UCLA Law to discuss the past, present and future of sexual liberty and equality in the United States.
In April, the Williams Institute held its 12th Annual Update,
“Lawrence + 10: What’s Next for LGBT Rights?” The conference
(L to R) University of Texas Law Professor Cary Franklin and Harvard Law Professor Michael Klarman
examined where the movement for LGBT rights finds itself on
the 10th anniversary of Lawrence v. Texas. Participants discussed new directions in anti-discrimination law, including the use
of Title VII to cover gender identity and sexual orientation in
employment practices, and examined issues involving criminal law prosecutions, such as HIV criminalization, against LGBT
people and others for consensual sexual activity. In his keynote address, legal historian and Harvard Law professor Michael
Klarman discussed his new book From the Closet to the Altar:
Courts, Backlash and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage, which
assesses the costs and benefits of pursuing same-sex marriage through litigation.
(L to R) Bryce Woolley ’11, Williams Institute Legal Council Member Megan Hey, Mitra Eskandari-Azari
(L to R) Williams Institute Founders Council Members Roberta Conroy and Arnold Kassoy
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