ADF presents annual Meese Award to Chuck Colson and Dr. Robert P. George
Award honors ‘significant efforts in promoting and defending religious liberty…and constitutional originalism’
Thursday, Oct 27, 2011
WASHINGTON — The Alliance Defense Fund presented the annual Edwin Meese III Award for Originalism and Religious Liberty Wednesday to the Honorable Charles W. Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, and Dr. Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University. The two men received the award at a ceremony in Washington.
ADF presents the award to individuals that have made “significant efforts in publicly promoting and defending religious liberty and principles of sound governance and jurisprudence through the active advancement of constitutional originalism.”
“Few individuals better embody the ideal of personal faith, character, and accomplishment than Chuck Colson and Robbie George,” said ADF President, CEO, and General Counsel Alan Sears. “Robbie is a man with extraordinary influence at the national levels of academics, the law, politics, and religion. And while he has displayed, throughout his career, the power of truth to change minds, Chuck’s life has been an endlessly eloquent demonstration of the power of God and of Truth to change hearts and transform lives. It is indeed an honor for ADF to recognize these two gentlemen for their contributions to defend, preserve, and affirm constitutional originialism and religious liberty.”
ADF established the award in 2009 in honor of Edwin Meese III, the award’s first recipient and the nation’s 75th attorney general serving President Ronald Reagan. In 2010, the award went to Judge Robert H. Bork.
“As Ed Meese has said, ‘Constitutional fidelity, through originalism, is critical to the protection of religious liberty,’” said Sears. “Both individuals understand that and have given their lives to defending that principle. It is a privilege to honor their lifetime of service with this award.”
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
ADF presents the award to individuals that have made “significant efforts in publicly promoting and defending religious liberty and principles of sound governance and jurisprudence through the active advancement of constitutional originalism.”
“Few individuals better embody the ideal of personal faith, character, and accomplishment than Chuck Colson and Robbie George,” said ADF President, CEO, and General Counsel Alan Sears. “Robbie is a man with extraordinary influence at the national levels of academics, the law, politics, and religion. And while he has displayed, throughout his career, the power of truth to change minds, Chuck’s life has been an endlessly eloquent demonstration of the power of God and of Truth to change hearts and transform lives. It is indeed an honor for ADF to recognize these two gentlemen for their contributions to defend, preserve, and affirm constitutional originialism and religious liberty.”
ADF established the award in 2009 in honor of Edwin Meese III, the award’s first recipient and the nation’s 75th attorney general serving President Ronald Reagan. In 2010, the award went to Judge Robert H. Bork.
“As Ed Meese has said, ‘Constitutional fidelity, through originalism, is critical to the protection of religious liberty,’” said Sears. “Both individuals understand that and have given their lives to defending that principle. It is a privilege to honor their lifetime of service with this award.”
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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ABOUT Alan Sears
Alan Sears was the first president, CEO, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, leading its efforts from 1993-2017. Across those nearly 25 years, he built an ADF team committed to a comprehensive legal strategy that includes training, funding, and legal advocacy. Sears earned his Juris Doctor from Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. While serving in numerous positions within the Reagan and Bush administrations, he worked for the Department of Justice under Attorneys General William French Smith and Edwin Meese III, including service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Section. Sears was appointed as director of the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography and served as associate solicitor with the Department of Interior under Secretary Donald Hodel. A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Sears has continued his education with professional instruction at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, and Pepperdine University. He is a member in good standing with the American, Arizona, California, District of Columbia (inactive), and Kentucky bar associations.