Justice Alito Delivers Keynote Address At Dinner Celebrating Launch Of Ken Starr Institute For Faith, Law, And Public Service At Pepperdine Caruso Law

Washington Examiner, Samuel Alito Says US Legacy Is ‘Mutual Respect’ Between Religions During Speech at Ken Starr Institute Dinner:

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito believes the everlasting legacy of the United States is the “mutual respect” of diverse religious viewpoints, according to his keynote speech for the launch of Pepperdine University’s Ken Starr Institute for Faith, Law, and Public Service last week.

Alito’s speech was in reflection on the late Ken Starr, solicitor general for former president George W. Bush who also served as independent counsel from 1994 to 1998 in the investigation that led to former President Bill Clinton‘s impeachment. Starr was a dean at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in Malibu, California, from 2004 to 2010, and the college announced its novel institute that bears his name at a private-ticketed event at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, on March 4.

Standing before a crowd of more than 250 attendees at the dinner event, Alito said he often considers what historians will think of the United States “hundreds and hundreds of years from now.”

“I hope that one thing they will say if they are asked ‘how did the United States contribute to the development of civilization’ is this: The United States of America taught the world that it is possible for a religiously diverse population to live together amicably, harmoniously, and productively with mutual respect,” said Alito, an appointee of Bush.

Pepperdine Caruso Law School Dean Paul Caron gives remarks about the Ken Starr Institute at a dinner event Monday at the Congressional Club in Bethesda, Maryland. ...

“A key component of the institute will be high-profile endowed chairs focused on the exploration of legal thought in the three vital areas of faith, law, and public service” to help students obtain careers of “leadership and strength” for future congressional officers, judicial clerkships, district attorneys, and other government roles, according to a press release from Pepperdine obtained by the Washington Examiner.

For more on the Ken Starr Institute for Faith, Law, and Public Service, see here. For my remarks at the dinner, see here.

Editor's Note:  If you would like to receive a weekly email each Sunday with links to the faith posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.