Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law & Affiliate Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University
I write and teach about public law, legal theory, and the philosophical foundations of equality and non-discrimination norms.
This site collects scholarship, public writing, testimony, teaching materials, and other projects. (I am also the developer of Case Viewer, a macOS and iOS app, which has its own website here.)
My longest-running line of work concerns the philosophy of equality and discrimination. In Discrimination and Disrespect, based on my dissertation in philosophy, I developed a philosophical account of wrongful discrimination rooted in the moral demands of respect for the full and equal personhood of others. In more recent work, I have further developed that account and explored its implications for norms of individualism, colorblindness, and what I term the “etiquette of equality.”
2015 · Book
Oxford University Press (2015)
A philosophical account of wrongful discrimination rooted in the moral demands of respect for persons.
Reviewed in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Ethics, the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, and Political Studies Review.
51 Phil. & Pub. Affairs (2023)
An account of how recurring disputes over offensive words, symbols, and analogies reflect an “etiquette of equality”—a code of social conventions for expressing respect amid social inequality—and the characteristic challenges to which this system gives rise.
1 Am. J. L. & Equality 252 (2021)
An account of the legal and ethical issues posed by algorithmic prediction that emphasizes the potential for this practice to perpetuate “patterned inequality,” in contrast to accounts focusing on unfairness to individuals.
129 Yale L.J. 1600 (2020)
An examination of whether colorblind legal doctrine—prohibiting any use of race in decision-making—is grounded in, or in tension with, the demands of respect for persons as individuals.
A second line of work addresses the substance of antidiscrimination law and doctrine. Several of these projects analyze the implications of recent developments in this area of law, including the application of Title VI to claims of campus antisemitism, the Supreme Court’s ambivalent attempt to end affirmative action, and the Court’s embrace of what I term a “dimensional” conception of disparate treatment.
139 Harv. L. Rev. F. 1 (2025)
With Deborah Hellman. A guide to the principal legal questions raised by recent efforts to apply Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to claims of “campus antisemitism” in the context of anti-Israel protests.
4 Am. J. L. & Equality 295 (2024)
With Deborah Hellman. An analysis of the Supreme Court’s ambivalent decision in SFFA v. Harvard, exploring how the Court struggled to separate affirmative action (which it purported to proscribe) from the consideration of people as individuals (which it blessed).
95 S. Cal. L. Rev. 785 (2022)
An analysis of the structure of disparate-treatment liability under Title VII in the wake of Bostock v. Clayton County, critiquing the Court’s reasoning but defending its conclusion and unpacking its implications.
1 Am. J. L. & Equality 252 (2021)
An account of the legal and ethical issues posed by algorithmic prediction that emphasizes the potential for this practice to perpetuate “patterned inequality,” in contrast to accounts focusing on unfairness to individuals.
129 Yale L.J. 1600 (2020)
An examination of whether colorblind legal doctrine—prohibiting any use of race in decision-making—is grounded in, or in tension with, the demands of respect for persons as individuals.
A third line of work addresses issues in the theory of legal interpretation and the administrative state, including the implications of the Supreme Court’s avowed commitment to textualism in statutory interpretation and its evolving understanding of arbitrariness review under the Administrative Procedure Act.
137 Harv. L. Rev. 515 (2023)
With Matthew Stephenson. An articulation of the fundamental conflict between substantive canons (such as the major questions doctrine) and modern textualism, and an extended effort to debunk each of the efforts to reconcile the two.
95 S. Cal. L. Rev. 785 (2022)
A defense of the Court’s result in Bostock v. Clayton County partly on the basis of an intervention in textualist theory: a statute’s “ordinary meaning” must be understood in light of distinctive norms of legal communication.
130 Yale L.J. 1748 (2021)
An argument that the Supreme Court’s recent administrative-law decisions have turned toward an “accountability-forcing” mode of arbitrariness review, and a study of the attractions and potential limitations of this approach.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · July 2026
In support of affirming the injunction against the government’s defunding of Harvard based on alleged antisemitism.
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts · July 2026
In support of Harvard’s motion to dismiss the government’s Title VI complaint.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights · February 2026
Expert testimony on antisemitism, anti-Zionism, Title VI, and civil-rights enforcement in higher education.
U.S. Supreme Court · March 2022
New York Times · October 2019
U.S. Supreme Court · September 2019
A macOS, iPhone, and iPad app for fast access to high-quality versions of judicial opinions.
Custom materials for my constitutional law course, compiled starting in spring 2024. All cases are edited with an emphasis on clarity and coherence, and the casebook includes interstitial notes that provide relevant context and draw out recurring themes.
These materials are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 License. You are free to share and adapt them for noncommercial purposes with attribution.
I am the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law and an Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University, where I write and teach about public law and its philosophical foundations, with a focus on constitutional law, antidiscrimination law, and legal theory. A full biography is available on my faculty page.
Harvard Law Today · March 2026
Harvard Law Today · November 2025
Harvard Law Today · October 2023
Harvard Law Today · June 2020
Hauser 416
Harvard Law School
1575 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-495-4846 · beidelson@law.harvard.edu
