UW’s own Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Endowed Professor of
Law, Peter Nicolas, has just published Sexual
Orientation, Gender Identity and the Constitution, the first law school
textbook of its kind. The book, which
blends cases, problems, textual narrative, and explanatory notes, fills a
surprising gap in legal scholarship, considering the increasing importance of
LGBTQ rights as a political and legal issue in recent years.
Before now, no constitutional law textbook had dealt solely
with sexual orientation and gender identity.
General constitutional law textbooks often omit or heavily edit important
cases in this area, especially those from lower federal courts and state courts. (The constitutional law in this area goes far
beyond Lawrence v. Texas.) Meanwhile, books on sexual orientation, gender
identity, and the law have not been written solely with regard to constitutional
law, and therefore have not addressed constitutional issues with the depth of
Professor Nicolas’ text.
In addition, Sexual
Orientation, Gender Identity and the Constitution stands alone among either
type of book in addressing at length the many procedural obstacles that
confront litigators wishing for a court to consider constitutional arguments in
a given case involving discrimination against LGBTQ individuals.
This latter aspect of the book may prove especially
beneficial to law students. As a general
matter, courts will only consider the constitutionality of a given law or state
action if the case cannot be decided on any other ground. Yet, the instruction of constitutional law
often does not focus on the common procedural problems that prevent courts from
considering important constitutional questions.
Professor Nicolas spends nearly 80 pages of the text addressing these
procedural issues, which include standing, mootness, abstention, and
jurisdiction stripping.
Sexual Orientation,
Gender Identity and the Constitution will be available soon at
Gallagher. You can check on its
availability here.
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