Peter Nicolas

William L. Dwyer Chair in Law
Professor of Law

Contact

Phone: (206) 685-2459
Email: pnicolas@uw.edu

Education

B.A. 1991, M.P.P. 1992, University of Michigan J.D. 1999, Harvard University

Curriculum Vitae

Areas of Expertise

Affirmative Action — Civil Rights — Constitutional Law — Evidence — Federal Courts — First Amendment — LGBTQ Rights — Religion and the Law — Reproductive Rights

Recent Courses

LAW A 592	Constitutional Law II
LAW B 503	Evidence
LAW B 506	Conflicts Of Laws
LAW B 590	Constitutional Law: Current and Future Issues Seminar

Selected Publications

See the full list under the Publications tab below.

Biography
Publications
Presentations
In the Media

Professor Nicolas joined the UW law school faculty in 2000 following a clerkship with Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, where he served on the editorial board of the Harvard Law Review. His teaching and research interests include evidence, federal courts, international civil litigation, conflict of laws, constitutional law, and sexual orientation law.

Professor Nicolas is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of evidence, federal courts, and sexual orientation law. He is the author of an evidence textbook, as well as a textbook on sexual orientation, gender identity, and the constitution. He has also authored nearly two dozen law review articles in the fields of federal courts, evidence, and constitutional law.

Professor Nicolas's scholarship has been cited by countless scholars and dozens of federal and state courts, including the United States Supreme Court. He has served as a consultant on cases nationwide involving efforts to backdate same-sex marriages, and he has been invited to lecture to both state and federal judges on the nuances of evidence law.

From 2008 - 2010, Professor Nicolas served as Associate Dean of the UW law school. His responsibilities in that capacity included faculty career development; curriculum delivery (including course scheduling and teaching assignments); appointing faculty committees and serving as a liaison to the academic standards, admissions, and curriculum committees; supervising the Director of Academic Services and the Director of Academic Advising; honor code enforcement; and working closely with the Dean and other members of the law school's leadership on all aspects of institutional development and planning.

Prior to pursuing a career in the law, Professor Nicolas was a Research Economist at the University of Michigan and served for two, two-year terms as a member of the Ann Arbor, Michigan, City Council. He is a member of the bars of New York, U.S. District Court of Colorado, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Peer Reviewed Journals & Law Reviews

Peter Nicolas, Reconstruction, 10 UC Irvine L. Rev. (forthcoming 2019).
Peter Nicolas, Electoral Evidence, 69 Ala. L. Rev. 109-67 (2017).
Peter Nicolas, Backdating Marriage, 105 Calif. L. Rev. 395-441 (2017).
Peter Nicolas, Saving an Old Friend from Extinction: A Proposal to Amend Rather Than to Abrogate the Ancient Documents Hearsay Exception, 63 UCLA L. Rev. Discourse 172-85 (2015).
Peter Nicolas, Obergefell's Squandered Potential, 6 Cal. L. Rev. Cir. 137-44 (2015).
Peter Nicolas, Fundamental Rights in a Post-Obergefell World, 27 Yale J. L. & Feminism 331-61 (2016).
Peter Nicolas, Gayffirmative Action: The Constitutionality of Sexual Orientation-Based Affirmative Action Policies, 92 Wash. U. L. Rev. 733-92 (2015).
Peter Nicolas, Straddling the Columbia: A Constitutional Law Professor's Musings on Circumventing Washington State's Criminal Prohibition on Compensated Surrogacy, 89 Wash. L. Rev. 1235-1309 (2014).
Peter Nicolas, The Sneetches as an Allegory for the Gay Rights Struggle: Three Prisms, 58 N.Y.L. Sch. L. Rev. 525-45 (2013-14).
Peter Nicolas, Gay Rights, Equal Protection, and the Classification-Framing Quandary, 21 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 329-79 (2014).
Peter Nicolas, Common Law Same-Sex Marriage, 43 Conn. L. Rev. 931-47 (2011).
Peter Nicolas, But What If the Court Reporter Is Lying? The Right to Confront Hidden Declarants Found in Transcripts of Former Testimony, 2010 BYU L. Rev. 1149-93 (2010).
Peter Nicolas, The Lavender Letter: Applying the Law of Adultery to Same-Sex Couples and Same-Sex Conduct, 63 Fla. L. Rev. 97-127 (2010).
Peter Nicolas, "I'm Dying to Tell You What Happened": The Admissibility of Testimonial Dying Declarations Post-Crawford, 37 Hastings Const. L.Q. 487-551 (2010).
Peter Nicolas, Left Hand, Third Finger: The Wearing of Wedding (or Other) Rings as a Form of Assertive Conduct under the Hearsay Rule, 30 Women's Rts. L. Rep. 526-42 (2009).
Peter Nicolas, Nine, of Course: A Dialogue on Congressional Power to Set by Statute the Number of Justices on the Supreme Court, 2 N.Y.U. J. L. & Liberty 86-130 (2006).
Peter Nicolas, De Novo Review in Deferential Robes?: A Deconstruction of the Standard of Review of Evidentiary Errors in the Federal System, 54 Syracuse L. Rev. 531-98 (2004).
Peter Nicolas, “They Say He’s Gay”: The Admissibility of Evidence of Sexual Orientation, 37 Ga. L. Rev. 793-892 (2003).
Peter Nicolas, American-Style Justice in No Man’s Land, 36 Ga. L. Rev. 895-1073 (2002).
Peter Nicolas, Fighting the Probate Mafia: A Dissection of the Probate Exception to Federal Court Jurisdiction, 74 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1479-1547 (2001).
Peter Nicolas, The Use of Preclusion Doctrine, Antisuit Injunctions, and Forum Non Conveniens Dismissals in Transnational Intellectual Property Litigation, 40 Va. J. Int’l L. 331-404 (1999).
Recent Case, Criminal Procedure -- Venue -- Third Circuit Finds Venue for Firearms Charge Improper in District Where Only Predicate Offense Occurred -- United States v. Palma-Ruedas, 111 Harv. L. Rev. 1134-39 (1998).
Case Comment, The Supreme Court, 1997 Term -- Leading Cases -- Federal Statutes and Regulations -- Americans with Disabilities Act -- Asymptomatic HIV, 112 Harv. L. Rev. 283-93 (1998).
Kenneth E. Warner, George A. Fulton, Peter Nicolas & Donald Grimes, Employment Implications of Declining Tobacco Product Sales for the Regional Economies of the United States, 275 J. Am. Med. Ass’n 1241-46 (1996).

Books or Treatises

Peter Nicolas, Evidence: A Problem-Based and Comparative Approach (4th ed. Carolina Academic Press 2018). 971 pages. [First published in 2005; includes statutory supplement and teacher's manual; supplemented annually.]
Peter Nicolas & Mike Strong, The Geography of Love: Same-Sex Marriage & Relationship Recognition in America (The Story in Maps) (5th ed. Peter Nicolas and Mike Strong 2014). 36 pages. [First published in 2011.]
Peter Nicolas & Mike Strong, The Geography of Love: Same-Sex Marriage & Relationship Recognition in America (The Story in Maps) (3d ed. Peter Nicolas and Mike Strong 2013). 36 pages.
Peter Nicolas, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Constitution (Carolina Academic Press 2012, annual supps.). 612 pages.
Peter Nicolas, Florida and Federal Evidence Rules, 2012-2013 (Aspen Publishers 2012). 426 pages. [First published in 2006.]
Peter Nicolas, New York and Federal Evidence Rules, 2012-2013 (Aspen Publishers 2012). 374 pages. [First published in 2007.]
Peter Nicolas, Texas and Federal Evidence Rules, 2009-2010 (Aspen Publishers 2009). 336 pages. [First published in 2006.]

News Media

Hugh Spitzer & Peter Nicolas, Op-Ed, Arlene's Flowers Case Judge Got It Right, News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) (Dec. 18, 2015).

Other Publications

Peter Nicolas, Comments on pending proposed amendments to the U.S. Federal Rules of Evidence, letter to Peter G. McCabe, Secretary, Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, Judicial conference of the United States.

Speaker, "The History of the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement: 50 Years After Stonewall", QLawWA and King County Superior Court (June 7, 2019)
Speaker, "The Federalization of Family Law", Meeting, Washington Superior Judges’ Association (April 8, 2018)
Speaker, "Evidence: The Admissibility of Electronic Information under the Federal Rules", 2017 National Workshop for Magistrate Judges I, Federal Judicial Center (April 3, 2017)
Panelist, "Setting the Post-Obergefell Agenda", Annual Meeting, Association of American Law Schools (January 6, 2017)

Opinion: The Senate Should Not Confirm Kavanaugh
Oct 03, 2018 | Source: The New York Times
What The Supreme Court's Wedding Cake Ruling Means For Northwest (Prof.Nicolas)
Jun 04, 2018 | Source: KUOW
Trump's Anti-LGBTQ Order Will Backfire: Here's Why - Prof. Nicolas mentioned
Feb 04, 2017 | Source: Crosscut
Fearing the Trump era, same-sex couples rush to adopt their own kids - Prof. Nicolas quoted
Jan 12, 2017 | Source: KUOW
The cunning trick in North Carolina’s radical new anti-LGBT law - Prof. Nicolas quoted
Apr 01, 2016 | Source: The Washington Post
Arlene's Flowers case judge got it right - Article by Prof Spitzer and Prof. Nicolas
Dec 18, 2015 | Source: The News Tribune
How The Supreme Court's Ruling On Same-Sex Marriage Could Affect Washington Couples - Prof. Peter Nicolas quoted
Apr 28, 2015 | Source: KUOW