HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2012 Program - Alumni Association ...

Richard W. Garnett
Associate Dean and Professor, Law School; Fellow, Institute for
Educational Initiatives
Biography
Richard Garnett is a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he
teaches and writes about criminal law, constitutional law, religious freedom, and the freedom
of speech. He received his B.A. in philosophy summa cum laude from Duke University in 1990,
and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1995. Before coming to Notre Dame, he served as a law
clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist and to Chief Judge Richard S. Arnold of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He also practiced law at the Washington, D.C. law firm of
Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin, specializing in criminal defense and religious liberty matters.
Garnett’s scholarly work is in the areas of law and religion, federalism, school choice, and the
freedom of association. He has also participated in the drafting of numerous amicus curiae
briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in First Amendment cases, including Zelman v.
Simmons-Harris, the landmark school-voucher decision.
Lectures
The Life and Legacy of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
Categories
Education, Government, Law
During his more than three decades on the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice William Rehnquist was a powerful and influential
voice, a respected colleague, and a dedicated public servant. In any number of areas—from criminal procedure and the death
penalty to religious freedom and federalism—Rehnquist’s views transformed our constitutional law and debates. Rehnquist died
in 2005, and his former law clerk, John Roberts, has succeeded him as chief justice. It is appropriate, then, that citizens—lawyers
and non-lawyers alike—learn about and take stock of his achievements and contributions.
Religion in the Public Square: What do our Constitution and Traditions Have to Say?
Particularly in the wake of recent elections, the Pledge of Allegiance case, the controversy over public funding of abortion, and
the same-sex marriage controversy, the always-bubbling debate about the appropriate role of religious believers and arguments
in public life has reached a full boil. Our Constitution, it is often said, prescribes a separation of church and state. How should we
understand this prescription, and what does it require of religious believers and institutions that engage in public and political
life?
The Right Questions About School Choice: Education, Religious Freedom, and the
Common Good
It’s been nearly a decade since the Supreme Court ruled, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, that the Constitution permits state and
local governments to experiment with school-voucher programs, and to include religious schools in the menu of parents’ options.
What is the current state of the school-choice debate in the courts, in our legislatures, and in the public square? What questions
and concerns should shape our thinking about education reform and its connection to religious freedom?
The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2012 Program 45