
Jay D. Wexler
Professor of Law
Michaels Faculty Research Scholar
BA magna cum laude, Harvard University
MA, University of Chicago Divinity School
JD, Stanford University
Biography
Professor Jay Wexler has taught at Boston University School of Law since 2001. His scholarship focuses on church-state law, constitutional law, environmental law, and marijuana law. His articles, essays, and reviews have been published in the BYU Law Review, George Washington Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Minnesota Law Review, Texas Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Washington University Law Review, and William and Mary Law Review, among other places.
Professor Wexler is also the author of seven books. His most recent volume, Weed Rules: Blazing the Way to a Just and Joyful Marijuana Policy, was published by University of California Press in April 2023. His prior book, Our Non-Christian Nation: How Atheists, Satanists, Pagans, and Others are Demanding Their Rightful Place in Public Life, was published in 2019 by Redwood Press, the trade imprint of Stanford University Press, and won a 2019 Independent Publishers Gold Medal award in the Religion category. Wexler’s other books have focused on topics such as the environmental impacts of religious practices around the world and quirky but important clauses in the U.S. Constitution. In addition, Wexler writes legal fiction and has published a novel, Tuttle in the Balance, about a Supreme Court justice having a mid-life crisis. Professor Wexler’s shorter pieces have appeared in places like the Boston Globe, Huffington Post, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Mental Floss, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Salon, Slate, Spy, USA Today, and Vox.
Wexler speaks on church-state and other constitutional issues across the United States and internationally. In the fall of 2022, he spent six weeks as a visiting scholar at the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law, the first and only law school in the Kingdom of Bhutan, and he is returning there in the fall of 2024 to teach and research a book on Bhutan’s transition to a constitutional democracy. Wexler has previously taught US Constitutional Law on a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Buenos Aires, constitutional civil liberties at the University of Lyon 3, and church-state law on a Fulbright Fellowship at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. He has delivered lectures on constitutional and environmental topics in Bangkok, Hanoi, Madrid, Moscow, Oslo, Santiago, Tallinn, and Warsaw. In addition, Professor Wexler has appeared as a church-state law expert in the documentary film Hail Satan? which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018, and in an episode of the Emmy award winning A&E series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.
Before coming to BU Law, Professor Wexler worked as a law clerk for Judge David Tatel on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court. From 1999 to 2001, he was an attorney advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice where he provided advice on constitutional and statutory issues to various members of the executive branch.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, Legislative Process, Marijuana Law, Religion & Law, and U.S. Supreme Court
Publications
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Jay D. Wexler, Weed Rules: Toward a Just, Joyous, and Sensible Marijuana Policy in a Post-Legalization Nation (2023)
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Jay D. Wexler, Justices Citing Justices 26 Green Bag (2023)
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Jay D. Wexler & Connor Burns, American Edibles: How Cannabis Regulatory Policy Rehashes Prohibitionist Fears and What to do About It 44 Seattle University Law Review (2021)
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Jay D. Wexler, Secular Invocations and the Promise of Religious Pluralism 26 Roger Williams University Law Review (2021)
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Jay D. Wexler, Our Non-Christian Nation: How Wiccans, Satanists, Atheists, and Other Non-Christians are Demanding Their Rightful Place in American Public Life (2019)
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Jay D. Wexler, When Religion Pollutes: How Should Law Respond When Religious Practice Threatens Public Health?, in Law, Religion, and Health in the United States (Holly Fernandez Lynch, I. Glenn Cohen, Elizabeth Sepper,2017)
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Jay D. Wexler, When God is Not Green: A World-wide Journey to Places Where Religious Practice and Environmentalism Collide (2016)
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Jay D. Wexler, Tuttle in the Balance: A Novel (2015)
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Jay D. Wexler, Constitutional Exaptation, Political Dysfunction, and the Recess Appointments Clause 94 Boston University Law Review (2014)
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Jay D. Wexler, Some Thoughts on the First Amendment's Religion Clauses and Abner Greene's Against Obligation, with Reference to Patton Oswalt's Character 'Paul from Staten Island' in the Film Big Fan No. 13-08 Boston University School of Law, Public Law Research Paper (2013)
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Jay D. Wexler, The Odd Clauses: Understanding the Constitution Through Ten of its Most Curious Provisions (2012)
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Jay D. Wexler, Adventures of Ed Tuttle, Associate Justice, and Other Stories (2012)
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Jay D. Wexler & David Hatton, The First Ever (Maybe) Original Jurisdiction Standings 1 Journal of Legal Metrics (2012)
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Jay D. Wexler, Government Disapproval of Religion No. 11-32 Boston University School of Law, Public Law Research Paper (2011)
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Jay D. Wexler, I'm a Laycockian! (for the Most Part) 89 Texas Law Review (2011) (book review)
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Jay D. Wexler, Eagle Party 14 Green Bag 2d (2011)
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Jay D. Wexler, From the Classroom to the Courtroom: Intelligent Design and the Constitution 3 Evolution: Education and Outreach (2010)
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Jay D. Wexler, Holy Hullabaloos: A Road Trip to the Battlegrounds of the Church/State Wars (2009)
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Jay D. Wexler, Justice Ginsburg's Footnotes 43 New England Law Review (2009)
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Jay D. Wexler, Religion in Public Schools, in The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion (Richard A. Shweder,2009)
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Jay D. Wexler, Intelligent Design and Judicial Minimalism: Further Thoughts on the 'Is It Science?' Question 4 University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy (2009)
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Jay D. Wexler, What Should We Teach When We Teach About Religion? The Case for a Global Perspective, Conference Proceedings: Religion and the Rule of Law in Southeast Asia: Continuing the Discussion (2007)
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Jay D. Wexler, Protecting Religion Through Statute: The Mixed Case of the United States 5 Review of Faith and International Affairs (2007)
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Jay D. Wexler, Kitzmiller and the "Is it Science?" Question 5 First Amendment Law Review (2006)
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Jay D. Wexler, Intelligent Design and the First Amendment: A Response 84 Washington University Law Quarterly (2006)
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Jay D. Wexler, Too Much, Too Little: Religion in the Public Schools 6 University of Maryland Journal of Race, Religion, Gender, and Class (2006)
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Jay D. Wexler, The Endorsement Court 21 Washington University Journal of Law & Policy (2006)
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Jay D. Wexler, Laugh Track 9 Green Bag 2d (2005)
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Jay D. Wexler, Parks as Gyms? Recreational Paradigms and Public Health in the National Parks 30 American Journal of Law & Medicine (2004)
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Jay D. Wexler, Darwin, Design, and Disestablishment: Teaching the Evolution Controversy in Public Schools 56 Vanderbilt Law Review (2003)
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Jay D. Wexler, Framing the Public Square 91 Georgetown Law Journal (2002) (book review)
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Jay D. Wexler, Preparing for the Clothed Public Square: Teaching About Religion, Civic Education, and the Constitution 43 William and Mary Law Review (2002)
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Jay D. Wexler, Defending the Middle Way: Intermediate Scrutiny as Judicial Minimalism 66 George Washington Law Review (1998)
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Jay D. Wexler, Review of Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences by Edward Tenner 16 Stanford Environmental Law Journal (1997) (book review)
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Jay D. Wexler, Risk in the Balance 30 Connecticut Law Review (1997) (book review)
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Jay D. Wexler, Of Pandas, People, and the First Amendment: The Constitutionality of Teaching Intelligent Design in the Public Schools 49 Stanford Law Review (1997)
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In the Media
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Vanity Fair June 5, 2025
Trump Thinks Autopen Is Only Bad When Biden Does It
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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npr March 17, 2025
Trump tries to void Biden’s pardons, blaming autopen. Many presidents have used it
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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Daytona Beach News Journal September 23, 2024
Brower Responds to Criticisms Regarding His Views on the Role of Religion in Government
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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September 11, 2024
As Neighboring States Cash In on Legal Cannabis, Wisconsin Remains Boxed Out
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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USA Today June 24, 2024
Medical Marijuana Could Be on Nebraska’s Ballot – If Advocates Get 30,000 More Signatures
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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NBC News May 16, 2024
As Conservatives Put Religion in Schools, Satanists Want In, Too
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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USA Today April 30, 2024
Biden Administration Plans to Drastically Change Federal Rules on Marijuana
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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ABA Journal April 15, 2024
Budding Cannabis Law Courses Are Growing—but Not Fast Enough
Jay Wexler is featured.
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Ivoox February 29, 2024
Decoding the Constitution in the Modern American Landscape | Jay Wexler (Author & Constitutional Law Prof.)
Jay Wexler is interviewed.
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Boston Globe February 19, 2024
The Federal Government May Soon Loosen Restrictions on Marijuana. Here’s How That Could Impact Massachusetts.
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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USA Today February 17, 2024
Most Americans Want Legal Pot. Here’s Why Feds Are Taking So Long to Change Old Rules.
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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High Times February 5, 2024
Massachusetts Cannabis Business Owners’ Lawsuit against the US Government Continues
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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Boston Globe February 1, 2024
Massachusetts Companies Are Suing the US Government over Marijuana Prohibition. Could They Win?
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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USA Today December 22, 2023
Experts Say Biden’s Pardons for Federal Marijuana Possession Won’t Have Broad Impact
Jay Wexler is quoted.
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Cannabis Business Times December 20, 2023
Editors’ Picks: The CBT Team Selects Their Favorite Videos and Podcasts From 2023
Jay Wexler is featured.
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Stories from The Record
Activities & Engagements
No upcoming activities or engagements.
Boston CannabizMD Cannabis Science + Policy Forum
Get Details“Weed Rules” at Moe Green’s
Get DetailsJay Wexler presents “Weed Rules: Blazing the Way to a Just and Joyful Marijuana Policy” at Third Place Books
Get Details“Weed Rules” at The Coffee Joint
Get DetailsJay Wexler Presents “Weed Rules” at Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore
Get Details“Weed Rules” at Avantpop Books, Las Vegas
Get DetailsJay Wexler & Peter Grinspoon:
Get DetailsCourses
Constitutional Law: LAW JD 810
Considers selected issues concerning judicial review, federalism, separation of powers, and individual rights.
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 810 A1 , Jan 12th to May 8th 2026Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Environmental Law: LAW JD 833
This is an introductory survey course in environmental law. We will consider the theoretical foundations and political dimensions of environmental law as we focus on several key statutes including the Clean Air Act (and its application to climate change), Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (the Superfund statute), and the National Environmental Protection Act.
FALL 2025: LAW JD 833 A1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 4 | Madison Condon |
First Amendment: LAW JD 839
This course will examine the free speech, free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment. About two-thirds of the course will focus on speech, including such topics as political speech (including campaign finance regulation), commercial speech, and expression in the public forum. The final one-third of the course will focus on religion, including such topics as freedom of religious practice, religion in schools, and religious displays and symbols.
FALL 2025: LAW JD 839 A1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 11:00 am | 12:25 pm | 3 | Jay D. Wexler |
Natural Resources Law: LAW JD 722
This course covers select topics in natural resources law and policy, including protection of biodiversity and endangered species; management and preservation of public lands such as national forests, rangelands, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, and national parks; conservation of wetland resources under section 404 of the Clean Water Act; and allocation of water resources. The overlap between this course and the course in Environmental Law is minimal, and students can enroll in this class regardless of whether they have previously taken the Environmental Law course.
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 722 A1 , Jan 12th to May 8th 2026Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Mon,Wed | 2:30 pm | 3:55 pm | 3 | Jay D. Wexler |