Michael "Mike" P. Farris (born August 27, 1951) is an American constitutional lawyer. He is a founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and Patrick Henry College, both in Purcellville and in Loudoun County in northern Virginia. He is CEO and general counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.


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. His efforts resulted in a number of court rulings and policy changes favoring homeschooling. In 1993, Farris hired Timmy Teepell, then a homeschooled 18-year-old, to run the Madison Project, a political action committee that raised campaign funds for Christian conservatives. Teepell later became a Republican political consultant in both his native Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Alexandria, Virginia. Farris also founded Patrick Henry College in 2000. According to HSLDA, the college was founded as "a Christian institution with the mission of training students through a classical liberal arts curriculum and apprenticeship methodology to impact the world 'for Christ and for Liberty.'" 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. In January 2017, Farris retired from the position of chancellor but retained the title of "chancellor emeritus."


Legal and political career

As a lawyer, Farris's 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 and ''National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra'' in 2018. 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. In 2009 and 2010, Farris represented the plaintiffs in ''Clemons, John T., Et Al. v. Dept. of Commerce, Et Al.'', which was dismissed on appeal to the Supreme Court. 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. That would have had the effect of expanding the size of the United States House of Representatives beyond its current 435 members. Along with Mark Meckler, Farris was co-founder of the Convention of States Project, 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. Alliance Defending Freedom announced that Farris would become its CEO and general counsel in January 2017.


Personal life

He married in 1971 and has 10 children and 22 grandchildren.Biography
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References



External links


Michael P. Farris, Esq.
* |- |- {{DEFAULTSORT:Farris, Michael P. Category:1951 births Category:Alumni of the University of London Category:Alliance Defending Freedom people Category:American legal scholars Category:Baptist ministers from the United States Category:Gonzaga University School of Law alumni Category:Governmental studies academics Category:Homeschooling advocates Category:Living people Category:Patrick Henry College faculty Category:People from Purcellville, Virginia Category:Presidents of Patrick Henry College Category:Virginia lawyers Category:Virginia Republicans Category:Western Washington University alumni Category:Baptists from Virginia Category:Political activists Category:Conservatism in the United States