David B. Cruz

Visiting Professor

  • B.A. UC Irvine, 1988
  • B.S. UC Irvine, 1988
  • M.S. Leland Stanford Junior University, 1991
  • J.D. New York University, 1994

David B. Cruz is a Visiting Professor at UCLA School of Law and the Newton Professor of Constitutional Law at the USC Gould School of Law, where his teaching and research focus on constitutional law, LGBTQ+ law, and their frequent intersection. A member of the faculty advisory committee of the Williams Institute, he was the first Visiting Scholar with the Williams Institute, and Fall 2023 marks his fourth such visit.

Professor Cruz holds a B.A., summa cum laude, in Drama, and a B.S., summa cum laude, in Mathematics, from UC Irvine; an M.S. in Mathematics from Stanford University; and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the NYU School of Law. At NYU, he was a Root-Tilden-Snow public interest scholar, served as the Managing Editor of the NYU Law Review, graduated a member of Order of the Coif, and received the University Graduation Prize, presented to the student with the highest cumulative average based upon five semesters, and the Benjamin F. Butler Memorial Award, presented for unusual distinction in scholarship, character, and professional activities. Thereafter he clerked for the Hon. Edward R. Becker, Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and was a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States.

Professor Cruz is a member of the board of directors of the Equality California Institute. He has previously served as a member of the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California; a member of, and an elected General Counsel for, the board of the American Civil Liberties Union; President of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Law Association; the Chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues (twice); and Secretary of the Equality California Institute.

Professor Cruz has, with co-author Jillian T. Weiss, published with Carolina Academic Press the first case book on the rights of transgender people, Gender Identity and the Law (2021). His scholarly articles have been published in numerous journals including the California Law Review, the Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality, and the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. He has been widely interviewed in foreign and domestic news outlets including CNN Headline News (live), The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and The Tavis Smiley Show.