Brad Sears will summarize the findings of the recently released report called “THE CRIMINALIZATION OF HIV AND HEPATITIS B AND C IN MISSOURI: AN ANALYSIS OF ENFORCEMENT DATA FROM 1990 TO 2019. ” This study examines enforcement of laws that criminalize exposing others to HIV or hepatitis B or C, using data from the Missouri Department of Corrections. Between 1990 and October of 2019, at least 593 people have been arrested in Missouri for at least one of its HIV/hepatitis crimes, based on statutes that are outdated and medically inaccurate. This includes 318 people who have been convicted for these crimes. Legislation to modernize Missouri’s statutes is likely to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee in March, so this is a very timely presentation. Please join us and invite others to do so as well.
Brad Sears is the David Sanders Distinguished Scholar of Law & Policy at the Williams Institute and the Associate Dean of Public Interest Law at UCLA Law. He was the founding Executive Director of the Williams Institute, which he led from 2001 to 2017. Sears has published a number of research studies, primarily on discrimination against LGBT people and people living with HIV. He has taught courses on LGBT and disability law at UCLA, Harvard, and Whittier law schools. He has testified before Congress and state legislatures, authored amicus briefs in key court cases, helped to draft state and federal legislation, and been cited frequently by national media. A graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School, he has received several awards, including the Co-Presidents Award from the LGBT Bar LA in 2019 and the Earl Warren Outstanding Public Service Award from the American Society of Public Administration (2018).
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