Michael Farris (lawyer)

Michael P. Farris (born August 27, 1951)[1] is an American lawyer. He is a founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and Patrick Henry College, which share a campus in Purcellville (Loudoun County), Virginia. From 2017 through 2022, he was CEO of and general counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.[2]

Michael Farris
Personal details
Born (1951-08-27) August 27, 1951
Conway, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseVickie Farris
Children10
EducationWestern Washington University (BA)
Gonzaga University (JD)
University of London (LLM)

Early life and education

Farris graduated, magna cum laude, with Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Western Washington University (formerly Western Washington State College). He then earned a Juris Doctor from the Gonzaga University School of Law. Farris received an LL.M. in public international law from the University of London in 2011.

Career

In 1983, Farris founded the Home School Legal Defense Association, serving as chairman and general counsel.[3] Farris founded Patrick Henry College, a Christian college, in 2000.[4] He held the positions of president and professor of government from 2000 to 2006. Farris resigned his position as president of HSLDA to take on these new roles. In March 2006, Farris stepped down from the position of president to become chancellor of the college.[5] In January 2017, Farris retired from the position of chancellor but retained the title of "chancellor emeritus."[6]

As a lawyer, Farris' cases include over 40 reported decisions as lead counsel. These decisions were given by the United States Supreme Court, five U.S. circuit courts of Appeal, seven state Supreme Courts, and five state Courts of Appeal. Farris has argued for the petitioners in the Supreme Court cases Witters v. Washington Department of Services For the Blind in 1985–1986[7] and National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra in 2018.[8]

In 1993, Farris ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Virginia and was defeated by Democrat Don Beyer, 54–46 percent. However, fellow Republicans George Allen and James Gilmore were elected on the same ballot as Governor and Attorney General, respectively. Farris' close connection to conservative leaders like Jerry Falwell of the former Moral Majority, Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition and Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum stirred deep-seated feelings about religion and politics. These concerns, inflamed by negative ads by Beyer to portray him even more radically, likely caused alienation of enough moderate voters to cause his defeat.[9]

In 2009 and 2010, Farris represented the plaintiffs in Clemons, John T., Et Al. v. Dept. of Commerce, Et Al.,[10] which was dismissed on appeal to the Supreme Court.[11] Apportionment.us brought the case in attempt to apply the "One Man, One Vote" principle of Baker v. Carr to the relative size of congressional districts across state lines.[12] That would have had the effect of expanding the size of the United States House of Representatives beyond its current 435 members.[13]

Along with Mark Meckler, Farris was co-founder of the Convention of States Project,[14] founded in 2013 to encourage a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution. He served as senior fellow for constitutional studies for the project's parent organization, Citizens for Self-Governance, and as a member of CSG's legal board of reference.

In 2017, Alliance Defending Freedom announced that Farris would become its CEO and general counsel.[2]

After Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election and refused to concede while making claims of fraud, Farris worked behind the scenes on legal documents filed by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton to overturn the election results (Texas v. Pennsylvania).[15]

On October 1, 2022, Kristen Waggoner succeeded Farris as CEO and President of ADF, retaining her role as General Counsel.[16]

Personal life

He married in 1971 and has 10 children and 22 grandchildren.[17] (see: Quiverfull)[18]

References
  1. Farris, Michael. "This is about my Dad and God". Facebook. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  2. "ADF Names New CEO - Alliance Defending Freedom". www.adflegal.org. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  3. http://www.hslda.org/about/staff/attorneys/Farris.asp HSLDA Biography of Michael Farris. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  4. "About". www.hslda.org. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  5. College, Patrick Henry. "News and Events - Patrick Henry College". www.phc.edu.
  6. College, Patrick Henry. "Exciting News from Dr. Michael Farris". Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  7. "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  8. "National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra - SCOTUSblog". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  9. Don Beyer, Mike Farris, and the Wizard of Oz; how the election for Lt. Governor of Virginia became a testing ground for the Christian right – Campaigns & Elections Dec–Jan 1993
  10. Baker, Peter (September 17, 2009). "Expand the House?". The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  11. "Apportionment.US - Blog". apportionment.us. December 13, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  12. "Lawsuit challenges number of House members". msnbc.com. September 30, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  13. Baker, Peter (July 12, 2010). "Suit Seeks to Double Size of House". The Caucus, The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  14. Markus Schmidt, January 20, 2014, Richmond Times-Dispatch, The News Virginian, Effort seeks to reset course for America, Accessed January 21, 2014, "...Last year, Farris launched the Convention of States Project, sponsored by a group called Citizens for Self-Governance. In the past three months, the project has opened numerous chapters nationwide that lobby legislators. ... "
  15. Lipton, Eric; Walker, Mark (October 7, 2021). "Christian Conservative Lawyer Had Secretive Role in Bid to Block Election Result". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  16. "ADF names new president, CEO". adflegal.org. Alliance Defending Freedom. August 19, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  17. "Biography". HSLDA.
  18. Feldman, Kiera (February 18, 2014). "Sexual Assault at God's Harvard". The New Republic. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
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