Professor of Law; Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science; Affiliated Faculty, Department of Gender Studies and The Kinsey Institute
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Articles
The Cultural Politics of Dan Quayle and Mike Pence, 52 INDIANA LAW REVIEW 69 (2019). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
Dignity and Social Meaning: Obergefell, Windsor, and Lawrence as Constitutional Dialogue, 87 FORDHAM LAW REVIEW 2069 (2019). [SSRN] [HeinOnline]
Religious Arguments, Religious Purposes, and the Gay and Lesbian Rights Cases, 17 FIRST AMENDMENT LAW REVIEW 237 (2018). [HeinOnline]
Making It Up: Lessons for Equal Protection Doctrine from the Use and Abuse of Hypothesized Purposes in the Marriage Equality Litigation, 68 HASTINGS LAW JOURNAL 657 (2017). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
Pavan v. Smith: Equality for Gays and Lesbians in Being Married, Not Just in Getting Married, 2016-1017 ACS SUPREME COURT REVIEW 161 (2017). [SSRN]
Race, Restructurings, and Equal Protection Doctrine Through the Lens of Schuette v. BAMN, 81 BROOKLYN LAW REVIEW 1393 (2016). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
RFRAs and Reasonableness, 91 INDIANA LAW JOURNAL 243 (2016). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
Foreword: Symposium on Academic Freedom, 91 INDIANA LAW JOURNAL 1 (2015). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
Is the Full Faith and Credit Clause Still "Irrelevant" to Same-Sex Marriage?: Toward a Reconsideration of the Conventional Wisdom 89 INDIANA LAW JOURNAL 95 (2014). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
Mini-DOMAs As Political Process Failures: The Case for Heightened Scrutiny of State Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments 109 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW ONLINE 12 (2014). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
Affirmative Action and Academic Freedom: Why the Supreme Court Should Continue Deferring to Faculty Judgments About the Value of Educational Diversity 1 INDIANA JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIAL EQUALITY Art. 2 (2013). [HeinOnline] [SSRN]
The Constitutional Right to (Keep Your) Same-Sex Marriage, 110 MICHIGAN LAW REVIEW 1421 (2012). [SSRN] [HeinOnline]
Interstate Recognition of Parent-Child Relationships: The Limits of the State Interests Paradigm and the Role of Due Process, 2011 UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LEGAL FORUM 233 (2011). [SSRN] [HeinOnline]
Where Cultures and Sovereigns Collide: Balancing Federalism, Tribal Self-Determination, and Individual Rights in the Adoption of Indian Children by Gays and Lesbians, 25 WISCONSIN JOURNAL OF LAW, GENDER & SOCIETY 327 (2010). [SSRN] [HeinOnline]
Book Chapters and Other Short Pieces
Article IV, Section 1: Full Faith and Credit Clause (with Stephen E. Sachs), in NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER INTERACTIVE CONSTITUTION PROJECT (online), 2016.
Full Faith and Credit: Some Lingering Dilemmas in NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER INTERACTIVE CONSTITUTION PROJECT (online), 2016.
India, Nepal, and Pakistan: A Unique South Asian Constitutional Discourse on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (with Sean Dickson), in SOCIAL DIFFERENCE AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN PAN-ASIA (Susan Williams, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Sexual Orientation, in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LAW AND HIGHER EDUCATION Charles J. Russo, Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010.
Branzburg v. Hayes, Civil Liberties in Modern Political and Legal Philosophy, and Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville, in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES (Paul Finkelman, Ed.). New York: Routledge, 2006.
Civil Liberties, in SOCIAL ISSUES IN AMERICA: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA (James Ciment, Ed.). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006.
Television Town Meetings, in THE GUIDE TO UNITED STATES POPULAR CULTURE (Ray Browne and Pat Browne, Eds.). Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 2001.
Politics: Liberal, in READER'S GUIDE TO LESBIAN AND GAY STUDIES (Timothy Murphy, Ed.). Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
Book Reviews
Review of Susan Gluck Mezey, Transgender Rights: From Obama to Trump, JOURNAL OF WOMEN, POLITICS AND POLICY (2020).
Book Review. Somin, Ilya, Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government Is Smarter, 1 JOURNAL OF CIVIC LITERACY (July 2014). [SSRN]
Editorials & Commentaries
Judges Have Long Deferred to Academe. That's Changing. CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (Nov. 7, 2023).
We Have a Living Constitution. Do We Need the ERA? INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL.COM (Nov. 22, 2019).
Those College Students Who Used the N-Word Shouldn't Have Been Arrested, NEW YORK TIMES (Oct. 25, 2019).
Will the Courts Protect LGBT Rights at Work?, INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL (Sept. 27, 2019).
"Religious Liberty" Is Not an Excuse to Deny Transgender People Medical Care, FORTUNE.COM (Jan. 18, 2018).
Where Does Kavanaugh Stand on LGBT Issues?, INDIANAPOLIS STAR (Aug. 15, 2018).
Even the Bernini of Buttercream Has to Serve Gay Couples, NEW YORK TIMES (Dec. 3, 2017).
The Christian Right, Gay Marriage, and the Abuse of "Religious Liberty", WASHINGTON MONTHLY (Sept. 24, 2015).
Gay Marriage: Supreme Court Validates Social Reality, Experience of Most Americans, FOX-NEWS.COM (June 26, 2015).
Does "Motivated Reasoning" Help Explain How Judges Decide Cases?, 30 ABA APPELLATE PRACTICE (Winter 2011).
New Biography Traces the Career of John Paul Stevens, 29 ABA APPELLATE PRACTICE (Summer 2010).
David Souter: A Friend to Academics, CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (online), (May 29, 2009).
American Legal Conservatives Oppose the Citation of Foreign Law, But What about the Hallowed Practice of Citing to Blackstone?, FINDLAW.COM (Oct. 20, 2008).
The Case for a Right of Marriage Recognition: Why Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Should Protect Same-Sex Couples Who Change States, FINDLAW.COM (July 9, 2008).
Should Colleges Be Sued for Harboring Intolerance?, CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, (Feb. 22, 2008).
When It Comes to Free Speech, Is a Professor Just Another Government Employee?, CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (Aug. 1, 2008).
Slandering Gays Through Icky Behavior, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES (Sept. 2, 2007).
IU Must Look Forward, Build on Its Strengths, INDIANAPOLIS STAR (Jan. 14, 2006).
Indecent Proposal, THE NEW REPUBLIC (online), (Jan. 5, 2005).
Same-Sex Marriage: "Full Faith" for Judgments, NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL (Feb. 21, 2005).
Alien Claims at Stake, NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL (June 14, 2004).
Federalists Do It, Too: The False Debate over "Activist" Judges, INDEPENDENT GAY FORUM (online), (Jan. 27, 2004).
Parallel Bars, AMERICAN PROSPECT (online), (Sept. 8, 2003).
U.S. Lags on Gay Rights: Supreme Court Can Help, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Sunday Perspective Section (June 22, 2003).
Anti-gay Bias Is Being Replaced by Fairness, INDIANAPOLIS STAR (Nov. 13, 2001).
Benson's Backcourt Politics, NUVO (Indianapolis), (Dec. 14, 2001).
Gay Rights Movement Enters Critical Period, BALTIMORE SUN (Mar. 5, 2000).
No Special Rights for the Scouts, INDIANAPOLIS STAR (July 15, 2000).
The Privileges of Marital Status, INDIANAPOLIS STAR (Sept. 4, 2000).
A Right to Ask about Sexuality, INDIANAPOLIS STAR (Dec. 28, 2000).
2000 Election Is Critical for Gays and Lesbians, BOSTON GLOBE (Mar. 7, 2000).
Gay Rights Not Stalled by Maine Repeal, BALTIMORE SUN (Feb. 22, 1998).
Hate Speech Can Stir Up Hateful Acts, BALTIMORE SUN (Oct. 18, 1998).
Drawbacks of a Same-Sex Marriage Bill, INDIANAPOLIS STAR (May 13, 1997).
Briefs
Brief Amici Curiae of Iowa Scholars of Law, History, Bioethics, Gender, and Sexuality in Support of Petitioners-Appellees in Good and Beal v. Iowa Department of Human Services, 2018.
Brief of the Human Rights Campaign and 207,551 Americans as Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners (The People's Brief) in Obergefell v. Hodges (with Dale Carpenter, et. al.), 2015.
Brief for the Appellant In Re: The Marriage of Melanie Davis and Angela Summers (with Earl Singleton), 2013.
Blog Posts
Medium.com -- An open platform for "insightful and dynamic thinking."
I’ve been looking into IU’s presidential search. Now a law firm is demanding to snoop through my email. (Oct. 4, 2021).
ACSBlog -- ACSBlog is sponsored by the American Constitution Society.
Relationship Check-in: LGBTQ People and the Supreme Court (Jun. 30, 2021).
Pronouns, "Academic Freedom," and Conservative Judicial Activism (Apr. 12, 2021).
Bostock: A Textualist Trump Appointee Delivers a Landmark Victory for LGBT Equality (Jun. 15, 2020).
As a Federal Judge, Would the "Tweeter Laureate of Texas" Follow Supreme Court Law? (Dec. 12, 2017).
Hively, Statutory Interpretation, and the Fiction of a Functional and Reasonable Congress (Apr. 7, 2017).
Why the Supreme Court Should Dismiss the Gavin Grimm Case (Feb. 27, 2017).
We Must Be the Change We Wish to See in Our Constitution (Sept. 18, 2015).
Indiana's RFRA: The Law Is Complicated, but the Anti-Gay Politics Are Not (Mar. 29, 2015).
Is a Right-to-Remain-Married Compromise Taking Shape at the Supreme Court? (Jan. 17, 2015).
Marriage Equality Is a National Issue, And So the Time Has Come for our National Court to Address It (originally appeared on The Huffington Post) (Jan. 8, 2015).
A New Front for Marriage Equality: Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages from Other States (July 31, 2013).
Santorum, Same-Sex Marriage Nullification, and the Constitution (Jan. 3, 2012).
Why Iowa's Anti-Gay, Anti-Judiciary Conservatives are Unfaithful to their State's History and Traditions (Aug. 5, 2011).
States Seek Ability to Continue Discriminating against Gay Families (Oct. 29, 2010).
Conveniently Supporting Checks on Political Power (Mar. 27, 2009).
SCOTUSBlog -- SCOTUSBlog is devoted to covering the U.S. Supreme Court comprehensively, without bias and according to the highest journalistic and legal ethical standards. The blog is provided as a public service.
Symposium: Sometimes It Takes Unelected Justices, Not the Political Process, to Give Americans the Law They Really Want (June 26, 2015).
Symposium: Let's Be Clear -- The Marriage Bans Are About Animus (Jan. 16, 2015).
Next on the Agenda for Marriage Equality Litigators... (June 26, 2013).
Same-Sex Marriage Symposium: Gay Marriage, Democracy, and Judicial Review (Sept. 14, 2012).
Legal Scholarship Highlight: Affirmative Action and Academic Freedom (Sept. 14, 2012).
The Right to Marry, and the Right to Remain Married (Aug. 23, 2011).
Interview with Bill Barnhart, co-author of John Paul Stevens: An Independent Life, Part I (May 28, 2010).
Interview with Bill Barnhart, co-author of John Paul Stevens: An Independent Life, Part II (June 2, 2010).
Huffington Post -- The Huffington Post (HuffPost) is an American news and opinion website and blog founded in 2005.
Anti-LGTBQ Activists Are Beginning to Realize "We Don't Win Anymore" (July 26, 2016).
Notorious RBG Apologists Are Picking a Dangerous Fight (July 14, 2016).
Indiana RFRA Fuss Shows Where the Real Mainstream Now Runs (Apr. 3, 2015).
Huckabee, Gay People, Finger Food, and Logic (Feb. 1, 2015).
Is a Marriage Equality Compromise Taking Shape at the Supreme Court? (Jan. 20, 2015).
Marriage Equality Is a National Issue, And So the Time Has Come for Our National Court to Address It (Jan. 3, 2015).
Gaming Out Gay Marriage's Path to the Supreme Court (June 6, 2012).
Are We Ready for a Real National Conversation on Same-Sex Marriage? (Feb. 7, 2012).
The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog --
Remembering Judge Terence Evans (Aug. 11, 2011).
Obama and Same-Sex Marriage: The Lawyerly Straddle Continues (June 24, 2011).
Paul Clement, DOMA, and the Role of Lawyers for Unpopular Causes (Apr. 25, 2011).
DOJ Abandons Defense of the "Defense of Marriage Act": First Thoughts (Feb. 23, 2011).
Other Blog Posts
Dorf on Law -- Justices, Like Any Other Judges, Should Not Be Partisans: A Response to Eric Segall (July 17, 2016).
Human Rights Campaign -- Windsor and Obergefell: Marriage Equality as Equal Dignity (June 30, 2016).