Scott Skinner-Thompson

Associate Professor of Law
Affiliate Faculty, LGBTQ Studies Program

401 UCB
2450 Kittredge Loop Drive
Wolf Law Building
Boulder, CO  80309
Office: 418
Phone: (303) 735-5294
E-mail: scott.skinnerthompson@colorado.edu

Curriculum Vitae:  View (PDF format)

Bio:
Scott's research and teaching interests are in constitutional law, civil rights, and privacy law, with a particular focus on LGBTQ and HIV issues. Bringing together these topics, his new book, Privacy at the Margins, examines how privacy can function as an expressive, anti-subordination tool of resistance to surveillance regimes. His scholarship has been published in the Georgetown Law Journal, Michigan Law Review, Northwestern University Law Review, UC Davis Law Review, Yale Law Journal Forum, and Columbia Law Review Online, and he served as editor of and contributing author to AIDS and the Law (Wolters Kluwer, 5th ed., 2016; 6th ed., 2020). His shorter work has appeared in Slate, Salon, The New Republic, Muftah, and elsewhere.

Prior to joining Colorado Law School in 2017, he was an Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering at New York University School of Law. In 2014, he was selected as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association and while in practice Scott served as co-counsel with the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Transgender Law Center, and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.

Scott clerked on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Dolores Sloviter and for Judge Robert Chatigny of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Scott graduated from Duke Law School, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, in 2008, receiving both a J.D. and LL.M in International & Comparative Law. He received his B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Whitman College in 2005.

Published Books

Privacy at the Margins, (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
AIDS and the Law, (editor, 5th ed. 2016; 6th ed. 2020) (Wolters Kluwer).

Articles

Trans Animus, 65 Boston College Law Review 965 (2024).
Solidifying Students' Right to Gender Expression, 104 Boston University Law Review 503 (2024).
Identity by Committee, 57 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 657 (2022).
Agonistic Privacy & Equitable Democracy, 131 Yale Law Journal Forum 454 (2021).
Anti-Subordination Torts, 83 Ohio State Law Journal 427 (2022).
Recording as Heckling, 108 The Georgetown Law Journal 125 (2019).
Privacy's Double Standards, 93 Washington Law Review 2051 (2018).
The First Queer Right, 116 Michigan Law Review 881 (2018) (review essay).
Performative Privacy, 50 U.C. Davis Law Review 1673 (2017).
Marriage, Abortion, and Coming Out, 116 Columbia Law Review Online 126 (2016) (with Sylvia Law & Hugh Baran).
Outing Privacy, 110 Northwestern University Law Review 159 (2015).
Title IX's Protections for Transgender Student Athletes, 28 Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society (2013) (with Ilona Turner).

Online Essays

Trans Emancipation Through Challenging the State, LAW & POLITICAL ECONOMY, Oct. 27, 2022 (reviewing ERIC A. STANLEY, ATMOSPHERES OF VIOLENCE: STRUCTURING ANTAGONISM AND THE TRANS/QUEER UNGOVERNABLE (2021) & PAISLEY CURRAH, SEX IS AS SEX DOES: GOVERNING TRANSGENDER IDENTITY (2022).
Sexuality's Promise for Sexual Privacy, JOTWELL (Aug. 30, 2023) (reviewing Brenda Dvoskin, Speaking Back to Sexual Privacy Invasions, 99 WASH. L. REV. (forthcoming 2023).
Privacy isn't in the Constitution - but it's everywhere in constitutional law, THE CONVERSATION, June 15, 2022.
Debunking the Myth that Policy Body Cams are Civil Rights Tool, JOTWELL, Jan. 28, 2022, (reviewing BRYCE CLAYTON NEWELL: POLICE VISIBILITY: PRIVACY, SURVEILLANCE, AND THE FALSE PROMISE OF BODY-WORN CAMERAS (2021)).
Resisting the Regulatory Oppression of Transgender Children, THE REGULATORY REVIEW, July 1, 2021.
Pinkwashing the Supreme Court, TAKE CARE, July 2, 2020.
Trump Administration Tells Schools: Discriminate Against Trans Athletes or We'll Defund You, SLATE, June 04, 2020.
Don't Criminalize COVID-19, SLATE, March 27, 2020.
Free Speech Isn't a Free Pass for Privacy Violations, SLATE, March 9, 2020 (with Margot Kaminski).
Reclaiming the Right to the Future Tense, LAW & POLITICAL ECONOMY, September 4, 2019.
Queering the Gay Agenda, SLATE, June 18, 2019.
Arguing Queer Rights, TAKE CARE, Nov. 18, 2019.
The Person Is Political, SLATE, Oct. 23, 2018.
Federal Courts are Standing Up for the Sanctity of Transgender Lives, SLATE, June 21, 2018.
Masterpiece Cakeshop is Not a License to Discriminate, SLATE, June 4, 2018.
How Trump May Inadvertently Advance Transgender Rights, SLATE, Nov. 30, 2017.
Rules for Digital Radicals, JOTWELL, Nov. 14, 2017, (reviewing ZEYNEP TUFEKCI, TWITTER AND TEAR GAS: THE POWER AND FRAGILITY OF NETWORKED PROTEST (2017).
Trump's Anti-Trans Animus, Unmasked, TAKE CARE, Nov. 6, 2017.
Animus, Not Readiness: Trump & Mattis Move Full Speed Ahead on Unconstitutional Trans Military Ban, JUST SECURITY, Sept. 1, 2017.
Appeals Court: Discrimination Against Trans Students is Likely Illegal, SLATE, May 30, 2017.
Why Trans People Have a Constitutional Right to Change their Birth Certificates, SLATE, April 27, 2017.
The Right to the Public Square: Hoodies, Head Veils, & Bathrooms, MUFTAH, March 23, 2017.
The Supreme Court Should Decide the Gavin Grimm Case Now, SLATE, Feb. 27, 2017.
Trump Isn't the Sole Decider of Trans Students' Rights, SLATE, Feb. 17, 2017.
North Carolina's Catch-22, SLATE, May 16, 2016.
Bathroom Bills and the Battle Over Privacy, SLATE, May 10, 2016.
How Nixon and Rehnquist Paved the Way for Transgender Rights, SLATE, April 1, 2016.
North Carolina Just Lost Some of Its Charm, SALON, March 25, 2016 (critiquing North Carolina's anti-LGBT legislation as violating constitutional privacy protections).
Clinton's Mistake on Reagan Is an Opportunity for Action on HIV/AIDS, SLATE, March 18, 2016 (with Carolyn McAllaster).
Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bills are Unconstitutional, SLATE, Feb. 11, 2016.
The Department of Education's Common-Sense Approach to Transgender Inclusion, SLATE, Nov. 4, 2015.
How Obergefell Could Help Transgender Rights, SLATE, June 26, 2015.
Bad Blood: The FDA's Donation Rule Change for Gay and Bisexual Men is Sending the Wrong Message on HIV, THE NEW REPUBLIC, May 19, 2015.
The FDA Should Follow Europe's Lead and Create Blood Donor Policies Based on Evidence, SLATE, April 30, 2015.
The "Straight" Faces of Same-Sex Marriage, SLATE, April 24, 2015.
For LGBT Rights, the To-Do List is Still Long, SEATTLE TIMES, June 26, 2013.

Selected Press, Media & Publicity

How the 303 Creative SCOTUS decision may change anti-discrimination laws | CU BOULDER TODAY | Wednesday, July 3, 2024
The Supreme Court Ruling the Right is Using to Eradicate Transgender People | THE NEW REPUBLIC | Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Supreme Court declines to take up transgender restroom policy challenge, again | WASHINGTON TIMES | Thursday, January 18, 2024
Biden proposal forbids US schools from outright bans on transgender athletes | THE GUARDIAN | Friday, April 7, 2023
Biden administration says schools may bar trans athletes from competitive teams | WASHINGTON POST | Thursday, April 6, 2023
Biden Plan Would Forbid Across-the-Board Bans on Transgender Participation in School Sports | THE 74 | Thursday, April 6, 2023
Fight over medical care for transgender youth moves from Gold Dome to Court | CAPITOL BEAT | Friday, March 24, 2023
A Standoff Over Transgender Rights | CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION | Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Curious about US trend toward LGBTQ equal rights? Look at Colorado. | CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR | Friday, December 16, 2022
A battle over Title IX: Can it be used to exclude trans athletes? | WASHINGTON POST | Thursday, September 29, 2022
Colorado asks Supreme Court to uphold anti-discrimination law in case of web designer who opposes same-sex marriage | COLORADO SUN | Friday, August 12, 2022
Après l'avortement, pourquoi d'autres droits sont menacés par la Cour suprême américaine | FRANCE 24 | Tuesday, June 28, 2022
The Supreme Court prompts the question: Who gets rights in America? | Washington Post | Saturday, June 25, 2022
The Supreme Court Overturned Roe v. Wade. How are Coloradans affected? | CU INDEPENDENT | Friday, June 24, 2022
Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade in Historic but Anticipated Reversal: 'This Is an Invasion of a Woman's Body,' | FORTUNE | Friday, June 24, 2022
Are anti-LGBTQ laws legal? Alabama trans laws spark debate over Constitutional rights | USA TODAY | Saturday, April 9, 2022
Is the US Constitution Broken and Can it Be Fixed? | COLORADO LAWYER | Friday, August 20, 2021
Alamogordo Public Schools to discuss female and transgender athletics at work session | ALAMOGORDO DAILY NEWS | Monday, August 16, 2021
Court Rulings Could Chill Video Recording of Police | LAW360 | Sunday, June 6, 2021
10th Circuit Breaks From Other Circuits on Qualified Immunity | LAW WEEK COLORADO | Tuesday, April 13, 2021
There's Covid. And 'Long Covid' | BIZWEST | Monday, March 1, 2021
Privacy at the Margins: An Interview with Scott Skinner-Thompson and Marginalized Groups | PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG | Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Citizens question if there will be a peaceful transition of power | THE BOLD | Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Only the 11th state: Why was the gay/trans panic defense, recently banned by state law, ever even a thing? | BOULDER WEEKLY | Thursday, July 23, 2020
Pandemic Postpones SCOTUS Finale | LAW WEEK COLORADO | Monday, June 29, 2020
No hay que criminalizar la pandemia | El ESPECTADOR | Monday, April 27, 2020
Sanciones y castigos alrededor de COVID-19, una tendencia mundial | EL ESPECTADOR | Saturday, April 4, 2020
#Rethink Aadhaar: A year after SC's Aadhaar judgment, we need to keep talking about Aadhar | NATIONAL HERALD | Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Four New Swing Justices: CLE Panel Discusses Dynamics of new Supreme Court Makeup | LAW WEEK COLORADO | Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Tenth Circuit: Detainee's Forced Walk While Nude Was Constitutional Violation | LAW WEEK COLORADO | Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Why WA's gay-wedding case is turning out differently than Colorado's | CROSSCUT | Friday, June 7, 2019
Supreme Court denies challenge to school transgender bathroom policy | WASHINGTON TIMES | Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Supreme Court Could Hear Arguments from Students Claiming That School Policies Protecting Transgender Rights Violate Their 'Bodily Privacy' | THE 74 | Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Abortion Rights are on the Line at the Supreme Court. What Does that Mean for Colorado? | COLORADO INDEPENDENT | Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Transgender Woman Says CVS Pharmacist Refused to Fill Hormone Prescription | NEW YORK TIMES | Saturday, July 21, 2018
The Future of Long-Standing Precedents After Kennedy | LAW WEEK COLORADO | Sunday, July 8, 2018
What's Next for Civil Rights After the Supreme Court's Masterpiece Ruling? | KGNU COMMUNITY RADIO | Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Colorado Baker to Go Before US Supreme Court | 9NEWS | Friday, December 1, 2017
Trump Administration Faces Lawsuit Over Transgender Ban | BLOOMBERG RADIO | Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Trump Administration Changes on Transgender Bathroom Issue | WWL FIRST NEWS | Thursday, February 23, 2017
Judge Blocks Transgender Bathroom Policy | BLOOMBERG RADIO | Monday, August 22, 2016
North Carolina Discrimination Law Violates US Constitution, Experts Warn | THE GUARDIAN | Friday, March 25, 2016
The Question Every Reporter Should Be Asking About Transgender Bathroom Bans | MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA | Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Ellen Pao Faces an Uphill Battle if She Appeals Her Anti-Discrimination Case | FUSION | Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Courses:

Fall 2024 Disability Rights LAWS 6555-801
Fall 2024 Civil Rights LAWS 7025-801
Spring 2024 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-801
Fall 2023 Civil Rights LAWS 7025-801
Spring 2023 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-801
Fall 2022 Seminar: Sexuality, Gender Identity, and Law Seminar LAWS 8665-801
Spring 2022 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-801
Spring 2022 Civil Rights LAWS 7025-801
Fall 2021 Disability Rights LAWS 6555-801
Spring 2021 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-801
Spring 2021 Civil Rights LAWS 7025-801
Spring 2020 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-802
Spring 2020 Civil Rights LAWS 7025-801
Spring 2019 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-803
Spring 2019 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-904
Fall 2018 Disability Rights LAWS 6555-801
Fall 2018 Civil Rights LAWS 7025-801
Spring 2018 Constitutional Law LAWS 6005-803
Fall 2017 Civil Rights LAWS 7025-801