Ralph W. Kasarda

Ralph W. Kasarda

Staff Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation

Ralph Kasarda joined the Pacific Legal Foundation in July 2007. His primary legal interests are individual rights. He devotes the majority of his time to working on cases in PLF's Equality Under the Law Project.

Mr. Kasarda successfully defended California's ban on racial preferences, Proposition 209, by drafting and filing appellate briefs and presenting oral argument in Coal. to Defend Affirmative Action v. Brown, before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also successfully argued against North Carolina's use of racial preferences in public contracting in H.B. Rowe Co., Inc. v. Tippett, before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is currently litigating against California's use of racial qualifications for the selection of public officers in Connerly v. State of California. He continues to author and coauthor briefs against the government's use of race for filing in courts around the country, including the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Kasarda received his B.A. in Physical Science and concentration in meteorology from San Francisco State University in 1981. He then served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps and left active duty in 1993. He received his Master of Arts in Education from George Mason University in 1994, and taught high school earth science and geography in Virginia. He returned to school and graduated from the Golden Gate University School of Law where for his academic excellence he received merit scholarships his final two years, and the Environmental Law Award.



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