Robertson Center for Constitutional Law Celebrates Victory for Religious Liberty

Lisa Marie Otto — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 18:47:15 +0000

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (June 22, 2021) – On June 17, 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in favor of Catholic Social Services in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The same day, the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law also filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Maxon v. Fuller Theological Seminary. June 17 was a monumental day for the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law and–more importantly–a monumental day for religious liberty in the United States.

“As these cases demonstrate, the center gives our students and faculty a platform to influence some of today’s most important matters of constitutional law,” stated Mark Martin, dean of Regent University School of Law. “We celebrate this work today and will continue our advocacy to preserve, protect, and uphold the Constitution of the United States.”

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision concerning religious liberty on June 17. It came in the form of a unanimous 9-0 ruling in favor of Catholic Social Services and foster mothers Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The Robertson Center filed an important brief in June 2020 in support of the prevailing parties.

The Robertson Center’s brief argued that the Court should overrule Employment Division v. Smith, a 1990 case that eroded protections for the free exercise of religion. In December 2020, the Robertson Center built on that brief by publishing an article in the Regent University Law Review exploring developments since Smith was decided thirty years ago. Although the Court in Fulton stopped short of overruling Smith, Fulton was the first U.S. Supreme Court decision in which a majority of Supreme Court Justices agreed that Smith should be overruled.

“It was a heartening surprise to see every single Supreme Court Justice rule in favor of religious liberty,” said Brad Lingo, professor at Regent University School of Law and executive director of the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law. “It’s rewarding to know that our advocacy mattered in this case.”

The same day as the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the Robertson Center also filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Maxon v. Fuller Theological Seminary. In this case, the Robertson Center represented Campus Crusade for Christ, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Chi Alpha Ministries, and Young Life in defending the importance of the First Amendment’s rights of assembly and expressive association.

The Robertson Center for Constitutional Law is an academic center within the Regent University School of Law. Established in 2020, the Center pairs advocacy and scholarship to advance first principles in constitutional law, including originalism, separation of powers, and religious liberty. The Robertson Center has represented former members of Congress, Christian ministries, and others in briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court and circuit courts of appeal. Learn more about the work of the Robertson Center at https://constitutionallaw.regent.edu/our-work/.

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About Regent University

Founded in 1978, Regent University is America’s premier Christian university with more than 11,000 students studying on its 70-acre campus in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and online around the world. The university offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in more than 150 areas of study including business, communication and the arts, counseling, cybersecurity, divinity, education, government, law, leadership, nursing, healthcare, and psychology. Regent University, ranked among top national universities (U.S. News & World Report, 2020), is one of only 23 universities nationally to receive an “A” rating for its comprehensive liberal arts core curriculum.

About Regent Law

Regent Law’s more than 3,300 graduates practice law in 49 states and over 20 countries and include 38 currently sitting judges. The School of Law is currently ranked 22^nd in the nation for obtaining judicial clerkships and ranked 20^th in the nation for Ultimate Bar Passage in 2019. The school offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.) in three-year and part-time formats, an online M.A. in Law, an online M.A. in Financial Planning & Law, an on-campus and online LL.M. in Human Rights, and an on-campus and online LL.M. in American Legal Studies.

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Year-End Update from Executive Director Brad Lingo

Lisa Marie Otto — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 18:19:00 +0000

When I wrote you last year, I had just joined the Regent Law faculty and the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law was just an idea. A year later, much has changed!

With your help, in June of 2020 we established the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law. Our Center strategically pairs advocacy and scholarship to advance first principles in constitutional law, including originalism, separation of powers, limited government, freedom of speech, and religious liberty.

Think of the Center’s mission as a series of three concentric circles. In the core, you’ll find our law students. Training them is the heart of our mission. In the next circle out, you’ll find the courts and the legal academy. We want to be more than just an “academic” center; we want to put our work and ideas directly before the courts (while training our students to do the same). Finally, in the last circle out, you’ll find the culture. We must educate all Americans about the importance of constitutional values if those values are to be preserved and defended.

We’ve been blessed with great partners and important work. Our Advisory Board includes Hon. John Ashcroft, Hon. Kenneth Starr, Jay Sekulow, Hon. Walter Kelley, former congressman Bob McEwen, former Deputy Solicitor General Tom Hungar, several former state supreme court justices and other federal and state court judges. Many faculty members have also given their time to the Center, including professors Hernandez, Duane, and Jacob.

The Center filed its first brief in May 2020—before we even formally launched. We represented former Indiana Senator Daniel Coats and former Congressman David Weldon in New York v. Department of Health and Human Services. Their brief explained the meaning of legislation they sponsored protecting the conscience rights of healthcare workers.

In June of 2020, the Center made its debut in the United States Supreme Court. We filed an amicus brief in a major case involving the meaning of the Free Exercise Clause, Fulton v City of Philadelphia. The Center’s brief explained why stare decisis should not prevent the court from overruling Employment Division v. Smith. We were honored to have Ken Starr work closely with us and sign the brief. That case was argued in the U.S. Supreme Court on November 4.

The Center’s brief in Fulton serves as the basis for a scholarly article that assesses the cultural impact of the limited religious protections offered by Smith. That article, titled Fulton and the Future of Free Exercise, is forthcoming in the Regent University Law Review.

And this semester, we collaborated with Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to launch a new course focusing on state constitutional law.

The Center’s first few months have been busy. We’re already making an impact in the courts and in the classroom. I invite you to read more about the Center (and check out our briefs and articles), at https://constitutionallaw.regent.edu/. There, you’ll also find a link where you can donate to our work. We’re committed to stewarding your gifts wisely—and to operating the Center on a limited budget without taking tuition dollars from current programs.

I hope you’ll consider a gift to the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law before the end of the year.

These are exciting times at Regent Law. I hope you’ll join me in supporting the work of the Center. Together, we can have a powerful impact on our students, the legal academy, and our Nation.

Best Regards,

Bradley J. Lingo
Executive Director, Robertson Center for Constitutional Law
Associate Professor, Regent University School of Law

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Lisa Marie Otto, Author at Robertson Center for Constitutional Law

Robertson Center for Constitutional Law Celebrates Victory for Religious Liberty

Year-End Update from Executive Director Brad Lingo