Sherif Girgis

Sherif Girgis is an associate professor of law at the University of Notre Dame with expertise in criminal law, constitutional law, constitutional theory, the intersection of law and religion, and philosophy of law. Girgis teaches courses in criminal law, jurisprudence, and constitutional law.^[1] He has served as a professor at Notre Dame since 2021.

Sherif Girgis
Education	Princeton University (BA) University of Oxford (BPhil) Yale University (JD)
Notable work	What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination
Title	Professor of law at Notre Dame University

Girgis previously practiced appellate and complex civil litigation at Jones Day in Washington D.C. He also clerked for Justice Samuel Alito of the United States Supreme Court as well as Judge Thomas Griffith of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.^[1]

Education

Girgis graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Princeton University with Phi Beta Kappa membership in 2008. He received a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in 2010. In 2016, he earned his Juris Doctor at Yale University, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. As of 2025, he is currently completing a Ph.D. in philosophy at Princeton.

Notable publications

Girgis' work has appeared in American Journal of Jurisprudence, the New York University Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Cambridge Companion to Philosophy of Law.^[2]

In 2010, Girgis co-authored and published the article "What is Marriage?" in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy with Ryan T. Anderson and Robert P. George.^[3] The article was later published under the name What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense by Encounter Books.^[4] In the article, they argue that the word "marriage" definitionally must involve the capacity of men and women to procreate. Thus, as they argue, the concept of same-sex marriage is philosophically unsubstantiated. Justice Samuel Alito referenced the book in his dissenting opinion in United States v. Windsor.^[5]

In 2017, Girgis co-wrote the book Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination with Ryan T. Anderson and John Corvino. The book received positive reviews for its constructive, rigorous, and back-and-forth discussion on religious freedom and anti-discrimination law.^[6][7]