So my former colleagues at @AllianceDefends are under fire. A few things:

First, ADF is so "hateful" that it recently joined with the ACLU and NAACP to press for the single-most important civil rights legal reform of our time -- ending qualified immunity. naacpldf.org/wp-content/upl…
Second, it's extraordinarily successful free speech/religious freedom litigation (including a glittering record at SCOTUS) has resulted in concrete civil liberties gains for ALL people, not just Christian believers. My cases at ADF expanded liberty, for example.
Third, at Blackstone and throughout all of ADF's programs (including litigation) there has long been an emphasis on doing the right thing, the right way -- with integrity, civility, and decency.
Fourth, this is especially true at Blackstone, which I believe to be the premiere Christian legal training academy in the United States. I've spoken at Blackstone more than a dozen times, and it's been an honor. It's the ideal first summer for Christian law students.
Fifth, ADF is biblically orthodox. But biblical ethics - including sexual ethics - aren't hateful. There are dissenting moral views in the U.S., and folks of all faiths and no faith are capable of advocating for their morality AND defending the Constitution.
Sixth, if you could sum up ADF's constitutional/statutory litigation approach, it's to argue broadly for originalism/textualism. It's an approach that doesn't just respect the Constitution, it's deeply respectful of democracy.
Finally, I think it's to Amy Coney Barrett's credit that she spoke to ADF's Blackstone Fellows. It is not and should not be career-limiting for orthodox Christians to speak to other orthodox Christians about their faith, judicial philosophy, and career. /end

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More from @DavidAFrench

10 Oct
This is an excellent development, and the opinion is exactly right. Capitol Hill Baptist's plan -- outdoor services, socially-distanced and masked -- was extremely responsible based on everything we now know about the virus. Yet DC said no, while it said yes to mass protests. /1
The key line from the opinion is below. In plain English it means that it's time for courts to stop simply deferring to the judgment of local officials and start applying standard levels of scrutiny to state actions during a pandemic: /2
That doesn't mean that all pandemic measures should be struck down. It means that the time of simple judicial acceptance is over. Mask mandates pass legal review easily. But placing more restrictions on outdoor worship services than outdoor protests or outdoor dining? Nope. /3
Read 5 tweets
23 Sep
How can the Breonna Taylor grand jury reach its result? Because the officers who directly returned fire were operating under a series of SCOTUS precedents that made clashes between armed homeowners 1) lawful; 2) inevitable; and 3) unjust (short thread): frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/supreme-cour…
SCOTUS has given police wide latitude to violently enter homes. Castle doctrine gives homeowners wide latitude to defend themselves. Thus, you can have a terrible, violent clash that EMPOWERED by the law, and you will end up with lawful tragedy. /2
There's a difference between officers serving a lawful (though unjustly granted) warrant returning aimed fire and the officer who wantonly fired outside the apartment. The grand jury decision properly reflects that distinction. /3
Read 4 tweets
19 Aug
In my newsletter (🔒) I look at the impact of the Senate Intelligence report on two Russia hoaxes. Yep, two. The first is represented by the extravagant claims of the Steele Dossier. It still doesn't hold up. It never did. But what's the second hoax? /1 frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-senate-i…
This one comes from the right, and it's the persistent minimization (especially on this website) of Trump campaign misconduct and the argument that the "real" story is that the campaign was the victim of a deep state smear job and government abuse of power. Wrong. /2 Image
Yes, the Mueller Report should have decisively debunked the "move along" defense of the campaign, but the right waved it off as a partisan witch hunt. But what about the bipartisan Senate conclusions? The Manafort/Kilminick disclosures alone are extraordinary. /3 Image
Read 5 tweets
14 Aug
In the latest newsletter (🔒), I dive into the newly-released, more-complete George Floyd body cam footage and argue that the depraved indifference to his life makes conviction more likely. Also, l examine whether a person has the "liberty" not to mask: /1 frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/new-george-f…
On masking, a President wouldn't have the generalized police power to order universal masking, but he can get (mostly) there in other ways. And if governors order masking, do citizens have the liberty to refuse? Nope: /2 Image
Moreover, if I don't have the liberty to disrobe at Target (after all, some folks argue that nudity is a form of "expression"), then I don't have the liberty to drop my mask: /3 Image
Read 5 tweets
7 Aug
In today's newsletter, I did a deep dive into the web of court cases that created the conditions for Breonna Taylor's death and make future deaths like hers inevitable. The newsletter is (🔒) but here are the key points. /1 frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/supreme-cour…
First, there are the SCOTUS no-knock cases (hat tip @radleybalko for his excellent analyses of these issues) that collectively both empower no-knock raids and remove exclusionary rule penalties for their misuse: /2
Next come the SCOTUS and circuit cases that often immunize officers even from CIVIL liability when officers shoot and kill citizens in their own homes when citizens do nothing wrong and sometimes even when officers are at the wrong house: /3
Read 6 tweets
24 Jul
Mike Adams died today. He was my friend. He was my client. We spent seven years in court together, fighting a long battle for free speech until a jury declared him a winner -- six short years ago. I want to tell you some things about Mike. /1 newsobserver.com/news/local/edu…
I disagreed with Mike, and I loved Mike. He could frustrate the heck out of me. I'll never forget condemning his worst statements right in front of him, speaking to the jury in closing arguments. But he was so much more than his tweets. /2
He was relentless in his defense of life. He was fierce in his defense of free speech and due process. For everybody. Not just his allies. He was a good friend. He loved his students, and his students loved him back. You should have read his student evaluations (I did). /3
Read 4 tweets

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