High court backs LGBTQ employment protections; Professor Soucek cited in an opinion

On June 15, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a landmark civil rights law protects lesbian, gay and transgender employees from workplace discrimination. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion regarding protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination based on religion, national origin or sex.

In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh cited – and disputed – a brief that was written by Professor Brian Soucek and Vanderbilt Professor Jessica Clarke on behalf of 16 scholars in support of the plaintiffs. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas also dissented.

Professor Soucek’s primary teaching and research interests are antidiscrimination law, civil procedure, constitutional law, and refugee/asylum law. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He has clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Mark R. Kravitz in Connecticut, and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.