Third-Year Student Erica Litle Receives Burton Award for Note on Gender Affirming Healthcare
Third year University of Arizona Law student Erica Litle has been named a recipient of Law360’s Distinguished Legal Writing Award by the Burton Awards for her Note, “Transitioning Texas Law into the Modern Era: A Dismantling of the Texas Attorney General’s Opinion on Gender Affirming Healthcare,” responding to the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's formal opinion where he argues that gender-affirming healthcare constitutes child abuse.
Law360’s Distinguished Legal Writing Awards are given to the finest law school writers from nominations submitted by the nation’s top law schools.
“I am incredibly excited and honored to have been nominated for this award, and additionally surprised to be selected as a winner,” said Litle. “I never imagined my Note would make it past my own computer screen, let alone into the Library of Congress. I just hope that it helps to further positive conversations about gender-affirming healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights in general.”
While legislative attempts to ban gender-affirming healthcare for youth are plentiful, Paxton took an executive approach to the issue, relying upon statutory and constitutional arguments. In 2022, the Texas executive branch sought to label gender-affirming care as child abuse, paving the way for a successful legislative ban in 2023 – S.B. 14. The Bill amends the Texas Code to prohibit the administration of gender-affirming healthcare to minors.
Litle’s Note discusses the complexities and importance of gender-affirming healthcare before responding to the AG's constitutional and statutory arguments condemning it. Litle argues that parents maintain a fundamental right to make medical decisions for their children, especially when those decisions agree with the child's and medical professional's opinions, and advocates for the medical profession to continue to regulate gender-affirming healthcare, rather than government officials.
“Although each of the editors of our student-run publications recommended several excellent Notes and deciding among them was a difficult task, ultimately Erica's thorough research, systematic analysis, and elegant prose made her Note a clear standout,” said Director of Legal Writing Susie Salmon, who submitted Litle’s Note for the Burton Award. “Like much of the most persuasive, effective legal writing, Erica's Note advocates through impeccable reasoning rather than overheated rhetoric. Indeed, Erica deftly enters a conversation on a contentious topic and makes her points with confidence and conviction.”
Litle’s Note was recommended for nomination by Arizona Law Review Editor in Chief Hannah Hayes, who said, “Erica's Note is incredible overall, but one aspect that really stands out is how well it was researched. The organization is impeccable, and Erica does a fantastic job of addressing the Texas Attorney General's arguments point by point with facts that discredit the entire premise of his position. Erica is an excellent advocate and an asset not only as a writer but as a leader on the Review. We are incredibly lucky to have her, and I am so glad that she is getting the recognition she deserves.”
Litle’s Note was published in the Arizona Law Review (Vol. 65, Issue 3), where she serves as Senior Note Editor.