The Williams Institute and student editors of the Dukeminier Awards Journal are pleased to announce the best sexual orientation and gender identity legal scholarship published during the 2023-2024 academic year. These four articles and the winner of our Jeffrey S. Haber Prize for Student Scholarship are featured in Volume 24 of the Dukeminier Awards Journal.

Thank you to our generous donors who have made these awards possible. 

Noa Ben-Asher
Professor of Law, St. John’s University School of Law
Margot J. Pollans
Professor of Law, Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law
Gender Regrets: Banning Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care, 2024 Utah L. Rev. 763 (2024)

This article examines how “regret” is used in bans on abortion and gender-affirming care for minors. It identifies two overlapping legal threads. First, both campaigns against medical care point to the protection of patients from future regret as a legitimate state interest that justifies restrictions. Second, both rely on alleged concerns about regret to redefine the legal meaning of “informed consent.” In doing so, both treat the emotion of regret as a distinct injury that could lead to a variety of legal rights and responsibilities.

D Dangaran
Assistant Professor of Law, University of Hawai’i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law
Bending Gender: Disability Justice, Abolitionist Queer Theory, and ADA Claims for Gender Dysphoria, 137 Harv. L. Rev. F. 237 (2024)

This Essay defends the Americans with Disabilities Act as a viable path for trans plaintiffs in prison to seek gender dysphoria accommodations using a critical autoethnographic lens. It presents data on the views of trans people incarcerated in Massachusetts, summarizes the history of gender dysphoria in the DSM, and explains recent legal interpretations under the ADA. Using queer and Crip theory, the Essay argues that trans people should pursue ADA claims to meet their medical needs within our current regime as they strive for a Disability Justice future. 

Dara E. Purvis
James E. Beasley Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law
Transgender Students and the First Amendment, 104 B.U. L. Rev. 435 (2024)

This Article is the first to map out and counter both obscenity and material disruption as justifications for limiting gender-identity speech. A thorough examination of student speech cases demonstrates that current attempts to define gender identity as an inappropriately sexualized topic for children are inconsistent with existing law. The Article proposes an analytical revision that takes the schools’ role into account, reconciles the conflict between the heckler’s veto doctrine and Tinker’s material disruption test, and strengthens the protection of all controversial student speech.

Ari Ezra Waldman
Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Gender Data in the Automated Administrative State, 123 Colum. L. Rev. 2249 (2023)

This Article shows how the law promotes an automated administrative state that binarizes gender data and erases transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people. The law mandates and encourages automated governance that prioritizes efficiency over inclusivity, causing dignitary, expressive, and practical harms. The Article questions the view of automated governance as devoid of discretion, relying on technical expertise, and the result of law stepping aside. It concludes with principles for reforming the approach to sex and gender data, emphasizing privacy law principles of necessity, inclusivity, and anti-subordination.

Gabriel L. Klapholz
Yale Law School, Class of 2026
Queer Outrage: Why the Legal Vindication of LGBTQ Feelings Can Transform Dignitary Tort Law, 24 Dukeminier Awards J. 209 (2025)

This Note explores how LGBTQ individuals historically used the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) to vindicate their rights and protect their basic dignity. It challenges the common belief that IIED is a purely majoritarian tort. Instead, the history of LGBTQ IIED demonstrates that the tort can serve as a tool to oppose majoritarian dominance and protect the most vulnerable. The Note also suggests a path forward to reconcile the recent clash between IIED and the First Amendment.

Winners of the 2025 Dukeminier Awards are leading legal scholars shaping LGBTQ law and policy through their publications. Join our virtual event featuring their award-winning work. Co-hosted by UCLA Law’s Dukeminier Awards Journal.
Co-sponsored by UCLA Law’s OUTLaw and QTPOCC. 

UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California-approved MCLE provider. This session is approved for 1 hour of MCLE credit (California only).

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law is an academic research institute dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.