I think social cohesion in my law firm is just
fine. But we are a law firm, and I don’t spend
my weekends constantly socializing with my
partners. But my law firm is committed to
a task: high-quality representation of our
clients. We have something that we call a
mission statement—just like the military—and
it’s first on our mission statement: high-
quality service to clients. If you want to be a
partner in my law firm, and you can’t meet
that criteria, you don’t become a partner
and you don’t last. And if you can meet that,
come on in, and we don’t care whether you
are straight, gay, or what your religion, is or
what your politics are or anything else, and we
don’t necessarily all hang out on weekends.”
Witt recalls the moment. “When Jim got
emotional in the closing arguments? Hoo. The
last line. It was really ... he really closed it well.”
It took six years to get to those 11 days of
trial, but in the end they got their verdict.
Judge Leighton ruled “don’t ask, don’t tell”
was unconstitutional as applied to Witt.
Three months later, the entirety of “don’t
ask, don’t tell” was repealed by Congress.
An obvious question: Did one lead to the
other?
Dunne—who, coincidentally, first studied
the Watkins case in 1997 at the University of
Chicago Law School, in a constitutional law
course taught by professor Barack Obama—
has little doubt. “The document that [Defense]
Secretary [Robert] Gates and Admiral [Mike]
Mullen and the general counsel, Jeh Johnson,
used in their congressional testimony to justify
the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’? It’s a road
map that follows our trial.”
At the White House signing ceremony
of the repeal, Witt was among the invited
guests. Lobsenz notes, “A number of people
told Major Witt directly that her case had an
impact and helped get the votes.”
One of those votes came from Sen. Joe
Lieberman.
The Witt case may have been won
as applied rather than on its face, but
Lieberman told Witt that the reason “don’t
ask, don’t tell” was repealed was because, as
she recalls it, “I put a real face on it.”
LOBSENZ, THE MAN WHO BATTLED FOR
30 years for the rights of gays to serve and
fight in the military, was raised a Quaker
in 1950s Connecticut, went to Stanford
University as an undergrad, and persuaded
his parents to allow him to get a master’s in
political science since he got his bachelor’s
in three years and the master’s would take
only one more year. “Most people went to
college for four years,” he remembers telling
