In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on same sex marriage, Nova Southeastern University is home to a legal expert who can provide insight and comment for media working related stories.
James D. Wilets, J.D. is a Professor of Law at Nova Southeastern University and is Chair of the Inter-American Center for Human Rights. He received his M.A. in International Relations from Yale University in 1994, his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1987, and his B.A. from the University of Washington in 1982. He teaches in the areas of International Law, Constitutional Law, Comparative Law, Human Rights, Immigration Law, Gender and the Law, and European Union Law.
Wilets made the following comment on the Supreme Court's decision:"Today's historic decision by the Supreme Court is a culmination of court precedents establishing that gays and lesbians are entitled to protection of the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the US Constitution. In applying those principles to marriage, the Supreme Court is simply upholding the equality of gay and lesbian citizens to the basic rights to marriage which other citizens take for granted. It has been a paradox of constitutional jurisprudence that the legal equality of gays and lesbians has largely been accepted, and yet not applied to one of the most legally and personal consequential events in many people's lives. For those opposed to same-sex marriage, this decision does not in any manner imply state endorsement of same sex marriage, but simply state neutrality. Members of religions that oppose same-sex marriage are free not to perform such marriages and are obviously free not to marry someone of the same gender."
While at Yale University, Wilets prepared, at the request of the UN Secretary-General, the first two drafts of a proposal for reforming the human rights functions of the United Nations, which was subsequently incorporated into the U.N.'s Agenda for Peace. He worked as an attorney for the International Human Rights Law Group's Rule of Law Project in Romania and led a joint mission to Liberia by the National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center. Wilets writes extensively on constitutional and international law issues.
Education- B.A., Cum laude University of Washington, 1982- M.A., Yale University, 1994- J.D., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar Columbia University School of Law, 1987
Areas of Interest- Constitutional Law- International Law- Comparative Law- European Union Law- Human Rights- Immigration Law
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