Regent University School of Law Unveils Robertson Center for Constitutional Law
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (June 4, 2020) – Regent University School of Law is pleased to announce the opening of the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law. The Robertson Center for Constitutional Law will leverage the expertise of faculty, students, and its global network of alumni and legal experts to promote freedom of speech, separation of powers, and religious freedom. The center has already filed briefs in cases pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
“Regent University School of Law was established to train leaders to defend our Constitution and the principles upon which our nation was founded,” said Regent’s founder, chancellor & CEO, Dr. M. G. “Pat” Robertson. “The creation of this center is one more step toward fulfilling that mission.” Robertson expressed profound gratitude to the advisory board and Regent leadership for “the wonderful honor” of dedicating the center in his name.
Leading the Robertson Center for Constitutional Law as chair is former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina and Regent University School of Law dean, Mark Martin. Former judge and U.S. Solicitor General Kenneth Starr, J.D., and Chief Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice Jay Sekulow, J.D., Ph.D., serve as honorary co-chairs of the center. Professor Bradley Lingo serves as executive director.
“The center will advocate to protect rights secured in the Constitution and work to restore enumerated rights that have been eroded or lost over time,” said Chief Justice Martin. “We will always be guided by the judicial philosophy expressed to me by the late Justice Scalia: If the words of our Constitution do not actually mean something, then we are simply making it up as we go.”
The Robertson Center will defend constitutional principles in court, publish white papers and scholarly articles, host distinguished judges and attorneys, advise foreign governments, support like-minded organizations, and train the next generation of advocates to defend first principles in constitutional law.
On May 12, 2020, the center filed its first brief. The brief was filed on behalf of amici former members of Congress Sen. Dan Coats and Rep. David Weldon, defending and explaining the meaning of legislation they sponsored protecting the freedom of conscience rights of healthcare workers. The case, NY v. HHS, is currently pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
“We were honored to represent Senator Coats and Representative Weldon in our first case,” said Lingo. “Those who work in healthcare should never have to choose between their careers and their conscience.” He continued, “And we were equally thrilled to work with Judge Starr on our next case. I can’t imagine a better partner for the center’s debut at the United States Supreme Court.”
On June 3, 2020, the center filed its first brief with the United States Supreme Court, asking the Court to reconsider a case that fundamentally altered the jurisprudence of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, is currently pending before the United States Supreme Court.
“Regent University is continuously advancing the level of mentorship, scholarship, and preparation for our students. The Robertson Center for Constitutional Law is one more step toward that end,” said Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riano, executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “It is fitting that the center bears the name of Dr. Robertson, who has dedicated so much of his life to defending the constitutional principles under which this nation has flourished.”
For more information, visit https://constitutionallaw.regent.edu/
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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 currently ranks in the top 25 percent of all law schools for obtaining judicial clerkships and ranked 20th 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.
Founded in 1977, Regent University has nearly 11,000 students studying on its 70-acre campus in Virginia Beach, Va., and online around the world. The university offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from a Christian perspective in 135+ program areas including business, communication, the arts, divinity, education, government, law, leadership, nursing, healthcare, and psychology. Currently, Regent University is ranked among top national universities by U.S. News & World Report and is one of only 23 universities nationally to receive an “A” rating for its comprehensive liberal arts core curriculum.