Douglas NeJaime

Essay

Before Losing

The prospect of productively leveraging litigation loss should not insulate decisions about whether and how to litigate from scrutiny. Examining contemporary LGBTQ litigation, this Essay shows how winning through losing, which is contingent on factors advocates assess before litigating, only makes sense within a less juriscentric and more multidimensional approach.

Oct 10, 2025
Essay

Religious Exemptions and Antidiscrimination Law in Masterpiece Cakeshop

Conversation about Masterpiece Cakeshop has focused on the Court’s holding that decisionmakers must treat those seeking religious exemptions with respect. This Essay brings to light the case’s broader guidance on religious exemptions under the Free Exercise Clause and what that means for judicial and legislative actors going forward. 

Sep 14, 2018
Essay

Windsor’s Right to Marry

In this Essay, Professor Douglas NeJaime reads United States v. Windsor, which technically rested on equal protection grounds, through the lens of the fundamental right to marry. The Windsor Court absorbed decades of LGBT rights advocacy by situating same-sex couples within a contemporary model of marriage in which marriage’s private welfare function and public recognition dimensions are mutually reinforcing. NeJaime...

Sep 15, 2013