Members of UCLA School of Law’s Supreme Court Clinic earned the latest in a recent string of major successes when, in November, the justices issued an opinion in the case of Pitts v. Mississippi, siding with the clinic’s client in a matter involving the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.

Since its founding, the clinic has taken nine cases to the Court and won five, a track record that would be impressive at most major law firms. In 2025 alone, the clinic has prevailed in two cases, Pitts and Thompson v. United States, and Professor Stuart Banner, who founded and directs the clinic, delivered oral argument in a third case, Villarreal v. Texas, which the Court has not yet decided. This track record and latest victory reflect the outstanding legal work and invaluable student experience that the clinic provides.

At issue in the most recent case, Pitts, was whether the Confrontation Clause, which guarantees a criminal defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him, allows a trial court to place a screen between a child witness and the defendant that prevents the child from seeing the defendant while the child is testifying. The clinic represented the defendant in his appeal to the High Court.

The Court agreed with the clinic’s argument that a trial court can use such a screen only if it finds that the screen is necessary to prevent trauma to the child that would be caused by viewing the defendant. The Court therefore reversed the decision of the Mississippi Supreme Court, which had allowed the use of a screen in every case involving a child witness.

The Washington Post quoted Banner in an article about the case. “The Court corrected an egregious error that took place at Mr. Pitts’s trial,” he said. “On remand, the Mississippi Supreme Court should find that the error was not harmless.”

Recent UCLA Law graduate Ben Gerstein ’25, worked on the case while he was a student. “It was an honor and incredible experience to draft a petition for Pitts. I worked closely with a classmate on a petition for certiorari, asking the court to summarily reverse a decision from the Mississippi Supreme Court which misinterpreted and misapplied the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause. It was thrilling to see the justices agree with our arguments and summarily reverse the lower court decision,” he says.

The Supreme Court Clinic brings together students and faculty members to work together on real cases, representing clients who otherwise would not have the resources to pursue matters before the Court. Students hone invaluable skills in appellate legal practice as they help to research and draft petitions for certiorari and briefs on the merits. And UCLA Law faculty experts from a range of disciplines participate in writing briefs and preparing for arguments. For nearly 15 years, attorneys from around the country have turned to the clinic for support, drawn by the uncommon strength of its success.

“The clinic is an essential and necessary resource for individuals, especially indigent criminal defendants, who lack the access and resources to bring cases to the Supreme Court,” says Gerstein, who graduated in May and currently works as a visiting research fellow at the University of Sarajevo Institute for the Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Next year, he will clerk for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The clinic, Gerstein adds, “also provides a great opportunity for us as students to familiarize ourselves with diverse areas of law and doctrine, and do so in a collaborative environment. I am very grateful for the guidance and expertise of Professor Banner, who helped us strategize and navigate the particular language and argument choices demanded by Supreme Court practice. I know as I move into my appellate clerkship next year, my training in the clinic will be indispensable.”

The justices are currently deliberating Villarreal v. Texas, the case that the clinic took to the Supreme Court and in which Banner delivered oral argument in October.