SIU Law Moot Court to focus on who decides treatment of a child’s gender dysphoria

SIU Law Moot Court to focus on who decides treatment of a child’s gender dysphoria

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Law school students from around the country will compete this weekend as the Southern Illinois University School of Law hosts the National Health Law Moot Court competition, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5, to argue a fictitious case before the U.S. Supreme Court on issues involving gender dysphoria of a minor.

Twenty-six teams from 18 law schools will participate in the 31st Health Law Moot Court competition to discuss whether a 14-year-old diagnosed with gender dysphoria can receive medications to block puberty when a state law would prohibit physicians from prescribing drugs to stop normal puberty until a patient is 18 years old.

Cheryl L. Anderson, law school professor and moot court programs director, noted that moot court problems are often “based on hypothetical cases that could happen but have not necessarily happened yet.”

“The fact pattern for this year’s health law competition is very similar to several cases that are currently making their way through the court system,” Anderson said. “A small number of states have recently enacted legislation similar to the hypothetical state law in this year’s problem, and the students arguing the case have a unique opportunity to mirror what is happening in actual appellate courtrooms.”

The court record and other information are on the competition website.

The event is the only mock U.S. Supreme Court competition dedicated to the always evolving and expanding topic of health law. Teams will compete in the law school’s Hiram H. Lesar Law Building with preliminary rounds on Friday, Nov. 4. The final round will be available via livestream at 4 p.m. Saturday via the law school’s moot court board YouTube channel.

Distinguished judges will preside

As the host, the SIU School of Law moot court team is not a competitor. Anderson noted that many alumni, faculty and friends of the law school will participate as early-round judges.

The final round judges are Judge Nancy Rosenstengel, chief judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois and SIU School of Law alumna;  Magistrate Judge Lanny King, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky; Dr. Tony Quang, president of the American College of Legal Medicine, and Camille Davidson, dean, SIU School of Law.

Sponsors are the SIU School of Law, the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM) and the American Health Law Association (AHLA).

For more information on the event and to arrange the best times for interviews on Saturday, Nov. 5, contact Cheryl L. Anderson, SIU School of Law professor, at 618-453-5634 or cheryla@siu.edu.

Participating law schools are Baylor University Law School; Chicago-Kent College of Law; Georgia State University College of Law; Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law; Loyola University Chicago School of Law; Mitchell Hamline School of Law; Saint Louis University School of Law; Seton Hall School of Law; South Texas College of Law Houston; Suffolk University Law School; Texas A&M University School of Law; Texas Tech University School of Law; University of California, Hastings College of Law; University of Houston Law Center; University of Minnesota Law School; University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law; University of New Mexico School of Law, and University of Tulsa College of Law.