Douglas Laycock
Robert E. Scott Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus
Douglas Laycock is perhaps the nation’s leading authority on the law of religious liberty and also on the law of remedies. He has taught and written about these topics for more than four decades at the University of Chicago, the University of Texas, the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia. He retired from teaching at UVA Law School in May 2023.
Laycock has testified frequently before Congress and has argued many cases in the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, where he has served as lead counsel in six cases and has also filed influential amicus briefs. He is the author (co-author in the most recent edition) of the leading casebook Modern American Remedies, the award-winning monograph The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule and many articles in leading law reviews. He co-edited a collection of essays, Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty.
His many writings on religious liberty have been republished in a five-volume collection:
- Religious Liberty Volume One: Overviews and History
- Religious Liberty Volume Two: The Free Exercise Clause
- Religious Liberty Volume Three: Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, Same-Sex Marriage Legislation, and the Culture Wars
- Religious Liberty Volume Four: Federal Legislation After the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, with More on the Culture Wars
- Religious Liberty Volume Five: The Free Speech and Establishment Clauses
Laycock resigned from the council and as first vice president of the American Law Institute to become co-reporter for the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Remedies. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He earned his B.A. from Michigan State University and his J.D. from the University of Chicago.
Forthcoming
The Respect for Marriage Act: Living Together Despite Our Deepest Differences (with Thomas C. Berg, Carl H. Esbeck & Robin Fretwell Wilson), University of Illinois Law Review (2023).
Works in Progress
Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies | Council Draft No. 2 (with Richard L. Hasen & American Law Institute), American Law Institute Publishers (2023).
Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies | Preliminary Draft No. 3 (with Richard L. Hasen & American Law Institute), American Law Institute Publishers (2023).
Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies | Tentative Draft No. 2 (with Richard L. Hasen & American Law Institute), American Law Institute Publishers (2023).
Books
Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies - Tentative Draft No. 1 (with Richard L. Hasen & American Law Institute), American Law Institute Publishers (2022).
Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies - Council Draft No. 1 (with Richard L. Hasen & American Law Institute), American Law Institute Publishers (2021).
Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies - Preliminary Draft No. 2 (with Richard L. Hasen & American Law Institute), American Law Institute Publishers (2021).
Religious Liberty: Volume Five — The Free Speech and Establishment Clauses, W. B. Eerdmans (2018).
Religious Liberty: Volume Two—The Free Exercise Clause, W. B. Eerdmans (2011).
Religious Liberty: Volume One—Overviews and History, W. B. Eerdmans (2010).
Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts (edited with Anthony M. Picarello & Robin Fretwell Wilson), Rowman and Littlefield (2008).
The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule, Oxford University Press (1991).
Textbooks
Modern American Remedies: Cases and Materials, 2020 Supplement (with Richard L. Hasen), Wolters Kluwer (5 ed. 2021).
Modern American Remedies: Cases and Materials (with Richard L. Hasen), Wolters Kluwer (5 ed. 2019).
Modern American Remedies: Cases and Materials, Concise 5th ed. (with Richard L. Hasen), Wolters Kluwer (Concise 5th ed. 2019).
Book Chapters
Liberty and Justice For All, in Religious Freedom, LGBT Rights, and the Prospects for Common Ground, Cambridge University Press, 24–37 (2019).
Opening Essay: Protecting Religious Liberty in the Culture Wars, in Deep Commitments: The Past, Present, and Future of Religious Liberty, Cato Institute, 21–33 (2017).
Religious Liberty, Health Care, and the Culture Wars, in Law, Religion, and Health in the United States, Cambridge University Press, 21–33 (2017).
Protecting Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty (with Thomas C. Berg), in Religion and Equality: Law in Conflict, Routledge, 167–182 (2016).
The Campaign against Religious Liberty, in The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty, Oxford University Press, 231–255 (2016).
Religious Liberty Is a Secular Liberal Value, in Free to Serve: Protecting the Religious Freedom of Faith-Based Organizations, Brazos Press, 160–163 (2015).
Remedies, in The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History, Oxford University Press (2009).
Afterword, in Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts, Rowman and Littlefield, 189–208 (2008).
Desegregation, Affirmative Action, and the Ten-Percent Law, in The Texas Book: Profiles, History, and Reminiscences of the University, University of Texas Press (2006).
Employment in Religious Organizations (with Patrick J. Schiltz), in Religious Organizations in the United States: A Study of Identity, Liberty, and the Law, Carolina Academic Press, 527–563 (2006).
Protecting Liberty in a Federal System: The US Experience, in Patterns of Federalism and Regionalism: Lessons for the UK, Hart Publishing, 119–148 (2006).
La Religion et l’État aux États-Unis: Affrontement des Théories et Changements Historiques, in La Conception Américaine de la Laïcité , Dalloz (2005).
Zoning (with Thomas C. Berg), in Encyclopedia of Religious Freedom, Routledge (2003).
Introduction, in Hopwood v. Texas Litigation Documents, William S. Hein & Co., xv-xxiv (2002).
Closing Remarks, in Charles Alan Wright: The Man and the Scholar: A Tribute, Jamail Center for Legal Research University of Texas School of Law, 43 (2000).
Theories of Interpretation: Free Exercise and Establishment Clause: General, in Religion and American Law: An Encyclopedia, Garland (2000).
Supreme Court Review, in United States Catholic Conference, Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth National Meeting of Diocesan Attorneys, 5 (1998).
Original Intent and the Constitution Today, in The First Freedom: Religion and the Bill of Rights, J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, 87–112 (1 ed. 1990).
Tort Liability, Spiritual Counseling, and the First Amendment, in Tort and Religion, American Bar Association, 23 (1990).
The Right to Church Autonomy as Part of Free Exercise of Religion , in Government Intervention in Religious Affairs, II, The Pilgrim Press, 28–39 (1986).
Articles & Reviews
The Respect for Marriage Act: Living Together Despite Our Deepest Differences (with Thomas C. Berg, Carl H. Esbeck & Robin Fretwell Wilson), 2024 University of Illinois Law Review 511 (2024).
Doug Rendleman and the Law of Remedies, 78 Washington & Lee Law Review 28–32 (2021).
Protecting Free Exercise Under Smith and After Smith (with Thomas C. Berg), 2020-2021 Cato Supreme Court Review 33 (2021).
Espinoza, Government Funding, and Religious Choice (with Thomas C. Berg), 35 Journal of Law and Religion 361–379 (2020).
The Right to Be Wrong, First Things (2020).
Book Review (reviewing Robin Fretwell Wilson ed., The Contested Place of Religion in Family Law) 61 Journal of Church and State 332 (2019).
Legislators on Executive-Branch Boards Are Unconstitutional, Period, 28 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 1–22 (2019).
The Broader Implications of Masterpiece Cakeshop, 2019 Brigham Young University Law Review 167–204 (2019).
The Wedding-Vendor Cases, 41 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 49–66 (2018).
Churches, Playgrounds, Government Dollars—and Schools?, 131 Harvard Law Review 133–169 (2017).
Generally Applicable Law and the Free Exercise of Religion (with Steven T. Collis), 95 Nebraska Law Review 1–27 (2016).
Religious Liberty for Politically Active Minority Groups: A Response to NeJaime and Siegel, 125 Yale Law Journal Forum 369–386 (2016).
Review of Thomas E. Buckley, Establishing Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Statute in Virginia (reviewing Thomas E. Buckley, Establishing Religious Freedom: Jefferson’s Statute in Virginia) 77 Theological Studies 743–744 (2016).
Gay Rights and Religious Freedom: Can We Find Common Ground? (with Abba Cohen et al.), Moment (2014).
Imaginary Contradictions: A Reply to Professor Oleske, 67 Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc 89–96 (2014).
Religious Liberty and the Culture Wars, 2014 University of Illinois Law Review 839–880 (2014).
Edward Schempp and His Family, 38 Journal of Supreme Court History 63–79 (2013).
Protecting Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty (with Thomas C. Berg), 99 Virginia Law Review in Brief 1–9 (2013).
Hosanna-Tabor and the Ministerial Exception, 35 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 839–862 (2012).
Restoring Restitution to the Canon (reviewing American Law Institute, Restatement (Third) of Restitution and Unjust Enrichment) 110 Michigan Law Review 929–952 (2012).
RLUIPA: Necessary, Modest, and Under-Enforced (with Luke W. Goodrich), 39 Fordham Urban Law Journal 1021–1072 (2012).
The Neglected Defense of Undue Hardship (and the Doctrinal Train Wreck in Boomer v. Atlantic Cement), 4 Journal of Tort Law art. 3 (2012).
Government Sponsored Religious Displays: Transparent Rationalizations and Expedient Post Modernism, 61 Case Western Reserve Law Review 1211–1252 (2011).
Reviews of a Lifetime, 89 Texas Law Review 949–966 (2011).
Sex, Atheism, and the Free Exercise of Religion, 88 University of Detroit Mercy Law Review 407–432 (2011).
A Conscripted Prophet’s Guesses about the Future of Religious Liberty in America, 2010 Fides et Libertas 62–75 (2010).
Conference Introduction: American Religious Liberty, French Laïcité, and the Veil, 49 Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 21–52 (2010).
Church Autonomy Revisited, 7 Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 253–278 (2009).
The Religious Exemption Debate, 11 Rutgers Journal of Law & Religion 139–176 (2009).
Voting with Your Feet is No Substitute for Constitutional Rights, 32 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 29–44 (2009).
High-Value Speech and the Basic Educational Mission of a Public School: Some Preliminary Thoughts, 12 Lewis & Clark Law Review 111–130 (2008).
How Remedies Became a Field: A History, 27 Review of Litigation 161–268 (2008).
Why the Supreme Court Changed Its Mind About Government Aid to Religious Institutions: It's a Lot More than Just Republican Appointments, 2008 Brigham Young University Law Review 275–294 (2008).
A Syllabus of Errors, 105 Michigan Law Review 1169–1188 (2007).
God vs. The Gavel: A Brief Rejoinder, 105 Michigan Law Review 1545–1550 (2007).
Remedies: Justice and the Bottom Line: Symposium Introduction, 27 Review of Litigation 1–8 (2007).
Substantive Neutrality Revisited, 110 West Virginia Law Review 51–88 (2007).
Church and State in the United States: Competing Conceptions and Historic Changes, 13 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 503–542 (2006).
Regulatory Exemptions of Religious Behavior and the Original Understanding of the Establishment Clause, 81 Notre Dame Law Review 1793–1842 (2006).
Religious Liberty in America: A Rapid-Fire Overview, 33 Human Rights 3–4 (2006).
Choosing Remedies: The Misleading Irreparable Injury Rule, 32 The Advocate 7 (2005).
Roundtable Discussion: Religious Organizations Filing for Bankruptcy (with Samuel J. Gerdano et al.), 13 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 25–58 (2005).
The Broader Case for Affirmative Action: Desegregation, Academic Excellence, and Future Leadership, 78 Tulane Law Review 1767–1842 (2004).
The Mistakes in Locke v. Davey and the Future of State Payments for Services Provided by Religious Institutions (with Thomas C. Berg), 40 Tulsa Law Review 227–254 (2004).
Theology Scholarships, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Religious Liberty: Avoiding the Extremes but Missing the Liberty, 118 Harvard Law Review 155–247 (2004).
Introduction: International Litigation Symposium Honoring the Distinguished Career of Professor Russell J. Weintraub, 38 Texas International Law Journal 1–10 (2003).
The Many Meanings of Separation, 70 University of Chicago Law Review 1667–1700 (2003).
Debate 2: Should the Government Provide Financial Support for Religious Institutions That Offer Faith-Based Social Services (with et al.), 1 Rutgers Journal of Law & Religion 5 (2000).
Religion in the Workplace: Proceedings of the 2000 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law and Religion (with Joanne C. Brant et al.), 4 Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal 87–140 (2000).
State RFRAs and Land Use Regulation, 2000 Zoning and Planning Law Handbook 655 (2000).
The Clear and Present Danger Test, 25 Journal of Supreme Court History 161–186 (2000).
The Supreme Court and Religious Liberty, 40 Catholic Lawyer 25–58 (2000).
State RFRAs and Land Use Regulation, 32 UC Davis Law Review 755–784 (1999).
Conceptual Gulfs in City of Boerne v. Flores, 39 William & Mary Law Review 743–792 (1998).
Federalism As a Structural Threat to Liberty, 22 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 67–84 (1998).
Religious Freedom and International Human Rights in the United States Today, 12 Emory International Law Review 951–972 (1998).
Round Table Discussion on International Human Rights Standards in the United States: The Case of Religion or Belief (with Abdullah An-Na’im et al.), 12 Emory International Law Review 973–1020 (1998).
Foreword: Charles Alan Wright and the University of Texas School of Law, 32 Texas International Law Journal 367–380 (1997).
The Boerne Case: Redefining Religious Liberty, 20 NCJW Journal 12 (1997).
The Underlying Unity of Separation and Neutrality, 46 Emory Law Journal 43–74 (1997).
Book Note (reviewing Jesse Choper, Securing Religious Liberty: Principles for Judicial Interpretation of the Religion Clauses) 44 Political Studies 1015 (1996).
Continuity and Change in the Threat to Religious Liberty: The Reformation Era and the Late Twentieth Century, 80 Minnesota Law Review 1047–1103 (1996).
Freedom of Speech That Is Both Religious and Political, 29 UC Davis Law Review 793–814 (1996).
Religious Liberty as Liberty, 7 Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues 313–356 (1996).
Academic Freedom, Religious Commitment, and Religious Integrity, 78 Marquette Law Review 297–312 (1995).
RFRA, Congress, and the Ratchet, 56 Montana Law Review 145–170 (1995).
Free Exercise and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 62 Fordham Law Review 883–904 (1994).
Interpreting the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (with Oliver S. Thomas), 73 Texas Law Review 209–246 (1994).
The Church-State Game: A Symposium on Kiryas Joel (with William Bentley Ball, Nathan Lewin & Michael W. McConnell), First Things 36 (1994).
Due Process of Law in Trilateral Disputes, 78 Iowa Law Review 1011–1028 (1993).
Individual Liberty and Constitutional Architecture: The Founder's Prompt Correction of Their Own Mistake, 16 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 75–86 (1993).
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 1993 Brigham Young University Law Review 221–28 (1993).
The Rights of Religious Academic Communities, 20 Journal of College & University Law 15–42 (1993).
The Triumph of Equity, 56 Law & Contemporary Problems 53–82 (1993).
A Declaration: For the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (with W. Cole, Durham, Edward McGlynn Gaffney & Michael W. McConnell), First Things 42 (1992).
Equal Citizens of Equal and Territorial States: The Constitutional Foundations of Choice of Law, 92 Columbia Law Review 249–337 (1992).
How to Restore Religious Freedom: A Debate (with W. Cole, Durham, Edward McGlynn Gaffney & Michael W. McConnell), First Things 48 (1992).
Summary and Synthesis: The Crisis in Religious Liberty, 60 George Washington Law Review 841–856 (1992).
The Benefits of the Establishment Clause, 42 DePaul Law Review 373–382 (1992).
"Noncoercive" Support for Religion: Another False Claim about the Establishment Clause, 26 Valparaiso University Law Review 37–70 (1991).
An Open Letter on Religious Freedom (with Edward Gaffney & Michael McConnell), First Things 44 (1991).
Book Review (reviewing Robert H. Bork, The Tempting of America) 101 Ethics 661 (1991).
That and Which, 2 Scribes Journal of Legal Writing 37–48 (1991).
The Declaration is Not Law, Christian Legal Society Quarterly 8 (1991).
Vicious Stereotypes in Polite Society, 8 Constitutional Commentary 395–409 (1991).
"God Alone Is Lord of the Conscience" Policy Statement and Recommendations Regarding Religious Liberty Adopted by the 200th General Assembly (1988) Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (with Committee on Religious Liberty and Church/State Relations), 8 Journal of Law & Religion 331–383 (1990).
Formal, Substantive, and Disaggregated Neutrality Toward Religion, 39 DePaul Law Review 993–1018 (1990).
Notes on the Role of Judicial Review, the Expansion of Federal Power, and the Structure of Constitutional Rights (reviewing Robert F. Nagel, Constitutional Cultures: The Mentality and Consequences of Judicial Review) 99 Yale Law Journal 1711–1748 (1990).
Review of Yorio, Contract Enforcement (reviewing Edward I. Yorio, Contract Enforcement: Specific Performance and Injunctions) 455 Business Lawyer 1377–1380 (1990).
Text, Intent, and the Religion Clauses, 4 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, & Public Policy 683–698 (1990).
The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule, 103 Harvard Law Review 687–771 (1990).
The Maroonbook v. The Bluebook: A Comparative Review (reviewing University of Chicago Manual of Legal Citation; A Uniform System of Citation (14th ed.)) 1 Scribes Journal of Legal Writing 181–190 (1990).
The Remedies Issues: Compensatory Damages, Specific Performance, Punitive Damages, Supersedeas Bonds, and Abstention, 9 Review of Litigation 473–529 (1990).
The Remnants of Free Exercise, 1990 Supreme Court Review 1–68 (1990).
The Supreme Court's Assault on Free Exercise, and the Amicus Brief That Was Never Filed, 8 Journal of Law & Religion 99–114 (1990).
Why the First-Year Legal Writing Course Cannot Do Much About Bad Legal Writing, 1 Scribes Journal of Legal Writing 83–86 (1990).
Book Note (reviewing Mark Tushnet, Red, White, and Blue: A Critical Analysis of Constitutional Law) 31 Journal of Church and State 303 (1989).
The Scope and Significance of Restitution, 67 Texas Law Review 1277–1293 (1989).
Academic Freedom and the Free Exercise of Religion (with Susan E. Waelbroeck), 66 Texas Law Review 1455–1476 (1988).
Reflections on Two Themes: Teaching Religious Liberty and Evolutionary Changes in Casebooks (reviewing John T. Noonan, Jr., The Believer and the Powers That Are: Cases, History, and Other Data Bearing on the Relation of Religion and Government) 101 Harvard Law Review 1642–1656 (1988).
Consent Decrees Without Consent: The Rights of Nonconsenting Third Parties, 1987 University of Chicago Legal Forum 103–154 (1987).
Constitutional Theory Matters, 65 Texas Law Review 767–776 (1987).
Equality and the Citizens of Sister States, 15 Florida State University Law Review 431–448 (1987).
"Nonpreferential" Aid to Religion: A False Claim about Original Intent Religion and the State, 27 William & Mary Law Review 875–924 (1986).
A Legal and Constitutional Survey of Religious Liberty in the United States, 76 Church & Society 42 (1986).
A Survey of Religious Liberty in the United States, 47 Ohio State Law Journal 409–452 (1986).
Continuing Violations, Disparate Impact in Compensation, and Other Title VII Issues, 49 Law & Contemporary Problems 53–62 (1986).
Equal Access and Moments of Silence: The Equal Status of Religious Speech by Private Speakers, 81 Northwestern University Law Review 1–67 (1986).
Responding to the Nonpreferentialists (reviewing Thomas Curry, The First Freedoms & Leonard Levy’s The Establishment Clause) 4 Journal of Law and Religion 241 (1986).
Statistical Proof and Theories of Discrimination, 60 Law & Contemporary Problems 97–106 (1986).
The Ultimate Unity of Rights and Utilities, 64 Texas Law Review 407–414 (1985).
The Efficient Use of Group Averages as Nondiscrimination: A Rejoinder to Professor Benston (with Lea Brilmayer & Teresa A. Sullivan), 50 University of Chicago Law Review 222–249 (1983).
A Case Study in Pedagogical Neglect, 92 Yale Law Journal 188–202 (1982).
Due Process and Separation of Powers: The Effort to Make the Due Process Clauses Nonjusticiable, 60 Texas Law Review 875–898 (1982).
Tax Exemptions for Racially Discriminatory Religious Schools, 60 Texas Law Review 259–277 (1982).
Sex Discrimination as Actuarial Equality: A Rejoinder to Kimball (with Teresa A. Sullivan), 1981 American Bar Foundation Research Journal 221–228 (1981).
Taking Constitutions Seriously: A Theory of Judicial Review, 59 Texas Law Review 343–394 (1981).
Towards a General Theory of the Religion Clauses: The Case of Church Labor Relations and the Right to Church Autonomy, 81 Columbia Law Review 1373–1417 (1981).
Sex Discrimination in Employer-Sponsored Insurance Plans: A Legal and Demographic Analysis (with Lea Brilmayer, Richard W. Hekeler & Theresa A. Sullivan), 47 University of Chicago Law Review 505–560 (1980).
Catholic Schools and Teachers' Unions, 140 America 406 (1979).
Federal Interference with State Prosecutions: The Cases Dombrowski Forgot, 46 University of Chicago Law Review 636–688 (1979).
Injunctions and the Irreparable Injury Rule (reviewing Owen M. Fiss, The Civil Rights Injunction) 57 Texas Law Review 1065–1084 (1979).
Dispositive Pre-Trial Motions in Illinois – Sections 45, 48 and 57 of the Civil Practice Act, 9 Loyola University of Chicago 823–862 (1978).
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, 54 Chicago-Kent Law Review 390–436 (1977).
Federal Interference with State Prosecutions: The Need for Prospective Relief, 1977 Supreme Court Review 193–238 (1977).
Reports & Datasets
StatementFaith-Based Initiatives: Recommendations of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Community Partnerships and Other Current Issues , US Government Printing Office 34–52, 193 (2010).
Report of the Task Force on Assembly and Expression, University of Texas at Austin (2003).
SubmissionConfirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments, S. Hrg. 107-584 , US Government Printing Office 737–744 (2002).
StatementHearing on Issues Relating to Religious Liberty Protection, and Focusing on the Constitutionality of a Religious Protection Measure, S. Hrg. 106-689 , US Government Printing Office 143–159 (1999).
Statement Religious Liberty Protection Act of 1999, HR 1691 , US Government Printing Office 100–121 (1999).
Statement Religious Liberty Protection Act of 1998, HR 4019 , US Government Printing Office 6–20, 222 (1998).
Statement Religious Liberty Protection Act of 1998, S. 2148, S. Hrg. 105-997 , US Government Printing Office 49–70 (1998).
Statement Religious Liberty and Charitable Donations Protections Act of 1997 and Religious Fairness in Bankruptcy Act of 1997 , US Government Printing Office 30–40 (1998).
Statement Congress’ Constitutional Role in Protecting Religious Liberty , US Government Printing Office 4–13, 55 (1997).
Statement Bankruptcy Issues in Review: The Bankruptcy Code’s Effect on Religious Freedom and a Review of the Need for Additional Bankruptcy Judgeships, S. Hrg. 105-392 , US Government Printing Office 23–28 (1997).
Statement Protecting Religious Freedom After Boerne v. Flores , US Government Printing Office 46–58 (1997).
Statement Religious Liberty: Examining the Status of Religious Liberty in the United States and Whether There Is a Need for Further Legal Protection, S. Hrg. 104-758 , US Government Printing Office 66–75 (1995).
Statement The Effect of the EEOC’s Proposed Guidelines on Religion in the Workplace, S. Hrg. 103-1072 , US Government Printing Office 37–51 (1994).
Statement The Religious Freedom Restoration Act S. 2969, S. Hrg. 102-1076 , US Government Printing Office 63–98 (1992).
Statement Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1991 , US Government Printing Office 326–371 (1992).
Letter to Chairman Don Edwards Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1990 , US Government Printing Office 72–79 (1990).
Letter (with Sanford V. Levinson)Nomination of Robert H. Bork to Be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, S. Hrg. 100-1011 pt. 5 , US Government Printing Office 6099–6103 (1987).
Statement Nondiscrimination in Insurance Act of 1983 , US Government Printing Office 546–620 (1983).
Statement Fair Insurance Practices Act , US Government Printing Office 19–34 (1982).
Statement Nondiscrimination in Insurance , US Government Printing Office 287–367 (1980).
Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works
On Friendship, Tolerance, and Religious Liberty, Balkinization (July 29, 2022).
Protecting Free Exercise Under Smith and After Smith (with Thomas Berg), SCOTUSblog (June 19, 2021).
Supreme Court Says a Claim for Nominal Damages Avoids Mootness – But When Does That Matter?, The ALI Adviser (March 22, 2021).
Douglas Laycock replies, First Things (August, 2020).
Implementing Compromise, Balkinization (July 21, 2020).
Religious Practice in a Pandemic, New York Times A25 (October 10, 2020).
Free Speech in the Pulpit, Christian Century 10–11 (March 15, 2017).
A Case That Puts Religious Liberty at Risk, Washington Post A17 (March 21, 2016).
Contemporary Hostility to the Free Exercise of Religion, Sightings (March 3, 2016).
Explained: Religion, the Birth-Control Controversy and the Supreme Court, Sightings (April 7, 2016).
Dicta: After Obergefell, 68 Virginia Law Weekly Dicta 1 (October 21, 2015).
Religious Liberty at the Founding, Constitution Daily (September 15, 2015).
Secularization in the U.S.: Overblown or Underestimated?, Sightings (November 5, 2015).
Why Law Professor Douglas Laycock Supports Same-Sex Marriage and Indiana Religious Freedom Law, Religion and Politics (April 1, 2015).
Congress Answered This Question: Corporations Are Covered, SCOTUSblog (February 19, 2014).
Embrace the Religious Exemption, New York Times (March 24, 2014).
What Arizona SB1062 Actually Said, Volokh Conspiracy (February 27, 2014).
What Is the Future of Religious Freedom in the United States (with Jacques Berlinerblau et al.), Moment 31 (March, 2013).
Clause for Concern, Cavalier Daily (September 16, 2012).
The Bishops & Religious Liberty, Commonweal 15–17 (June 15, 2012).
How to Be Religiously Neutral, Legal Times (July 4, 2005).
Is Teaching Intelligent Design Illegal? (with Francis J. Beckwith), Legal Affairs Debate Club (September 26, 2005).
On Top 10-Percent Law, Let's Alter It, Not Toss It, Austin American-Statesman (March 23, 2005).
Religious Choice: Not for Religion or Against Religion, but for Individual Choice, 3 UT Law 42 (February, 2004).
Forging Ideological Compromise, New York Times A31 (September 18, 2002).
Injudicious: Liberals Should Get Tough on Bush's Conservative Judicial Nominees - And Stop Opposing Michael McConnell, The American Prospect Online (October 30, 2002).
Judicial Nominations in a Divided Government, Austin American-Statesman A15 (October 9, 2002).
Vouching Toward Bethlehem, Religion in the News (May, 2002).
Affirmative Action: A Real-World Solution, Austin American-Statesman A15 (July 13, 2001).
The Damage Done, Texas Lawyer (December 31, 2001).
Replies to Thomson's "Abortion", 20 Boston Review 31 (October, 1995).
Religious Harassment or Free Speech? Few Answers from EEOC, Chicago Tribune 21N (June 17, 1994).
UT's Color-Conscious System, Texas Lawyer 20 (November 29, 1993).
What Hillary Clinton Really Said, Wall Street Journal A15 (September 16, 1992).
Neutrality Needed: Founders Rejected Endorsement of Religion, 46 Report from the Capital 4 (September, 1991).
Minority Faculty Issue Clouded by Bias, Daily Texan (July 10, 1990).
The Students Won! Supreme Court Enforces Equal Access Act, 11 Christian Legal Society Quarterly 17 (May, 1990).
Watering Down the Free-Exercise Clause, 107 Christian Century 518 (May, 1990).
Peyote, Wine, and the First Amendment, 106 Christian Century 876 (October 4, 1989).
Religious Liberty: The Legal Rights of Religious Belief and Ministry, 30 Concern 16 (January, 1988).
Philosophy Is Enough to Deny Senate Consent (with Sanford V. Levinson), USA Today 10A (September 15, 1987).
Bible Chairs Program Aids Religion, Daily Texan 4 (December 10, 1985).
Founders Wanted Total Neutrality, USA Today 8A (August 12, 1985).
Texas Law Professor Clarifies a Paraphrase (letter to editor), National Law Journal (February 4, 1985).
Church Leaders Can Speak (letter to editor), Daily Texan (July 22, 1983).
UT Insurance Plan Unfair, Daily Texan 4 (June 7, 1983).
"La Difference" in Insurance (letter to editor), Wall Street Journal 25 (October 27, 1982).
Atheist's Point Is a Valid One (with Sanford V. Levinson), Daily Texan 4 (February 26, 1982).
First Amendment Misunderstood (letter to editor), Daily Texan 4 (September 24, 1981).
Proselytizing Is Permissible (letter to editor), Daily Texan 4 (October 5, 1981).
In the Media
Education
J.D.
,
University of Chicago Law School
,
1973
B.A.
,
Michigan State University
,
1970
Expertise
- Bill of Rights
- Church and state
- Damages
- Declaratory Judgments
- First Amendment
- Injunctions
- Remedies
- Religion and law
- Restitution
- Supreme Court
- Tort reform
- Vouchers (school)
Featured Scholarship
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