United States District Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
President, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
Caroline Fredrickson joined ACS in 2009 and serves as president. She oversees the group and provides a steady hand of leadership to the nation’s leading progressive legal organization.
During her tenure, Caroline has helped grow ACS, which now has more than 40 lawyer chapters across the country, student chapters in nearly every law school in the United States, and thousands of members throughout the nation. She is an eloquent spokesperson for ACS and the progressive movement on issues such as civil and human rights, judicial nominations and the importance of the courts in America, marriage equality, voting rights, the role of money in politics, labor law, anti-discrimination efforts, and so much more.
She has been widely published on a wide range of legal and constitutional issues and is a frequent guest on television and radio shows, including a notable and well-covered appearance on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor in 2012 defending the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Before joining ACS, Caroline served as the director of the ACLU’s Washington legislative office and as general counsel and legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America. In addition, Caroline was chief of staff to Sen. Maria Cantwell and deputy chief of staff to then-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. During the Clinton administration, she served as special assistant to the president for legislative affairs.
Caroline graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Russian and East European Studies in 1986 and from Columbia University School of Law with a J.D. in 1992. In law school, she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, served on the Columbia Law Review and co-founded the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. Following law school she clerked for James L. Oakes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She currently is a member of Law Students for Reproductive Justice's Advisory Board.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
On November 19, 2019, Judge Robert J. Luck was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit by President Donald Trump. Prior to serving on the federal bench, he was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 14, 2019. He previously served on the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami after his appointment there by Governor Rick Scott in March 2017.
Earlier, Judge Luck served on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida from September 2013 to March 2017. He presided in the Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. Judge Luck, in his years as a trial court judge, tried seventy jury trials, and heard dozens of appeals from the county court and municipal agencies. Judge Luck was appointed to the circuit court in 2013 and was elected by the voters of Miami-Dade County to retain his seat in 2016.
Prior to his service on the bench, Judge Luck was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. In his years as a federal prosecutor, he was assigned to the Appeals, Major Crimes, and Economic Crimes Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Judge Luck tried nineteen jury trials before the federal district court and argued three appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In his final year in the Office, he was a Deputy Chief in the Major Crimes Section.
Earlier in his career, Judge Luck was a legislative correspondent for two United States Senators, a law clerk and staff attorney to Circuit Judge Edward E. Carnes on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and a part of the Greenberg Traurig firm’s appellate section. Judge Luck received his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law magna cum laude and was asked to join the Order of the Coif. Judge Luck also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Law Review. Judge Luck received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Florida with highest honors.
Partner, Schaerr-Jaffe
Mark Paoletta represents clients in connection with government investigations, with an emphasis on congressional investigations and hearings. He also counsels clients on how to successfully navigate legislative and regulatory issues before the government. Mr. Paoletta served in senior positions in the Legislative and Executive Branches for more than eighteen years, and he brings that experience to effectively help his clients.
In private practice, Mr. Paoletta has successfully represented many Fortune 500 companies in congressional investigations, including companies in the following areas: pharmaceutical and healthcare; telecommunications and media; privacy and technology; hedge funds and banking; energy; defense contracting and services; and education. He has represented government officials in high-profile inquiries, including a Governor, a Mayor, and a senior White House official.
Mr. Paoletta served for a decade as Chief Counsel for Oversight and Investigations for the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure, Mr. Paoletta managed nearly 200 investigative hearings, many of which involved high-profile issues and investigating some of the largest U.S. corporations. Many of those investigations led to substantial revisions to federal law, regulations and public awareness on significant issues of the day.
Mr. Paoletta most recently served as General Counsel for the Office of Management & Budget in the Executive Office of the President during the Trump Administration. As General Counsel to what many consider the most powerful agency in Washington, D.C., Mr. Paoletta worked daily with agencies across the federal government to ensure programs were implemented consistent with the President's policies. Mr. Paoletta also worked closely with the other component offices within OMB, such as the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which reviews and signs off on every regulation issued by federal agencies. Mr. Paoletta also served as Counsel to Vice President Pence during the first year of the Trump Administration.
During his time in the Trump Administration, Mr. Paoletta helped prepare many nominees for confirmation hearings, including Cabinet nominees, several Court of Appeals nominees, and two Supreme Court nominees.
Mr. Paoletta also served in the White House as Assistant Counsel to President George H.W. Bush. In that position, he played a key role in the successful confirmation effort of United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
General Counsel, NRB
Dr. Michael P. Farris is a litigator, educator, public advocate, and communicator, and is widely recognized for his successful work on both the national and international stage.
He is the founding president of both the Home School Legal Defense Association (1983) and Patrick Henry College (2000) and continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of HSLDA and Chancellor Emeritus of PHC. Dr. Farris served as the President and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom and continues to serve in a part-time capacity as Counselor to the President. He currently serves as General Counsel for National Religious Broadcasters.
Fox Family Pavilion Distinguished Scholar in Residence, University of Pennsylvania
MARCI A. HAMILTON is a Fox Family Pavilion Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also the founder, CEO, and Academic Director of CHILD USA, www.childusa.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit academic think tank at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to interdisciplinary, evidence-based research to prevent child abuse and neglect. Before joining the program on religion at Penn, Professor Hamilton was the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.
Hamilton is the leading public intellectual critic of extreme religious liberty and its impact on vulnerable populations including children, LGBTQ, and women. The author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty (Cambridge University Press), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, she is also a columnist for Verdict on Justia.com. Hamilton successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) at the Supreme Court in Boerne v. Flores (1997), and defeated the RFRA claim brought by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee against hundreds of child sex abuse survivors in Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Listecki (7th Cir. 2015).
Drawing on her experience studying and advising in cases involving clergy sex abuse, Hamilton is the leading expert on child sex abuse statutes of limitations and has submitted testimony and advised legislators in every state where significant reform has occurred. She is the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (Cambridge University Press), which advocates for the elimination of child sex abuse statutes of limitations. She has also filed countless pro bono amicus briefs for the protection of children at the United States Supreme Court and the state supreme courts. Her textbook, Children and the Law, co-authored with Martin Gardner, will be published Fall 2017 by Carolina Academic Press, formerly Lexis/Nexis.
Hamilton clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Hamilton has been honored with the 2016 Voice Today, Voice of Gratitude Award; the 2015 Religious Liberty Award, American Humanist Association; the 2014 Freethought Heroine Award; the National Crime Victim Bar Association’s Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award, 2012; the E. Nathaniel Gates Award for outstanding public advocacy and scholarship, 2008; and selected as a Pennsylvania Woman of the Year Award, 2012, among others. She is also frequently quoted in the national media on RFRA, RLUIPA, First Amendment, clergy sex abuse, and statute of limitations issues.
Professor Hamilton is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, B.A., summa cum laude; Pennsylvania State University, M.A. (English, fiction writing, High Honors); M.A. (Philosophy); and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Judge Nelson was confirmed to the Ninth Circuit in October 2018, as the youngest Circuit Judge to serve from Idaho and he has chambers in his hometown of Idaho Falls. Prior to his confirmation, Judge Nelson served for nine years as General Counsel of Idaho Falls-based Melaleuca, Inc., a consumer goods company. He previously worked in Washington, DC, where he served in all three branches of the federal government, including as Special Counsel for Supreme Court nominations to the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Deputy General Counsel to the White House Office of Management and Budget; Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice; and a law clerk to Judge Henderson of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He has argued in most of the federal courts of appeals and worked on dozens of Supreme Court briefs. He started in the Washington, DC office of Sidley Austin as an appellate lawyer, after clerking for Judges Mosk and Brower of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at The Hague, and for now-Judge Tom Griffith, then-Senate Legal Counsel, during the impeachment trial of President Clinton. Judge Nelson earned his B.A. from Brigham Young University and his J.D., with honors, from BYU Law School. Judge Nelson has been a member of the Federalist Society since 1998.
United States District Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Director, Booker T. Washington Initiative and Senior Fellow for Urban Education
Richard A. Johnson, Ed.D., is the director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Booker T. Washington Initiative, which examines the effects of public policy on African-American communities.
Previously, Johnson served as a chief of staff in both municipal and state governments. As chief of staff for a Houston City Council member, he played a significant role in drafting and navigating policies related to public safety, public works, and housing and community development. During the 85th and 86th Texas Legislatures, he served as a chief of staff and a senior policy analyst for a House member and worked on education, public safety, healthcare, and workforce development legislation.
An educator for more than 20 years, Johnson has extensive experience in teaching and research. He worked as a research assistant at the University of Texas Mental Science Institute, studying the efficacy of counseling and pharmacological therapy on cocaine and heroin addicts. He began counseling inner-city adolescent males and founded an academy for troubled boys which provided education, discipline, and residential substance abuse treatment. In 2007 he began teaching and researching in the areas of psychology and academic performance.
A Texas native, Johnson has an Ed.D. in education administration and an M.A. in clinical psychology from Texas Southern University. He received a B.A. in history and government from Wiley College.
Stone Hilton, Founding Partner
A founding partner of Stone Hilton, Judd Stone is well respected both in Texas and across the nation as an insightful and tenacious appellate litigator. A lifelong Texan, Judd has argued dozens of appeals in both federal and state court, including arguing eight cases before the United States Supreme Court.
Judd began his legal career clerking for United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Edith H. Jones. With a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law where he graduated first in his class, Judd's academic and professional credentials place him among the most distinguished lawyers in the profession. At the helm of countless major legal battles and emergency appeals for the State of Texas, Judd's deep understanding of the law and persuasive advocacy have been instrumental in shaping legal precedents. His tenure as the Solicitor General of Texas is a testament to his expertise and the trust placed in him by high-ranking state officials. Judd's strategic prowess extends beyond the courtroom; his advisory roles have made him a respected figure among policymakers.
His contributions to Stone Hilton and the legal community are characterized by his meticulous approach to cases, his acumen as a counselor, and his unwavering commitment to justice. As a partner at Stone Hilton, Judd continues to apply his formidable talents to advocate for his clients with the utmost dedication and to uphold the pillars of integrity and excellence that the firm stands for.
Principal, Palanquin Companies
Viet D. Dinh is Principal of the Palanquin Companies, including Palanquin Advisors LLC and Palanquin Capital LLC. He was a senior executive of Fox Corporation, serving as Chief Legal and Policy officer from September 2018 to December 2023 and Special Advisor from January 2024 to December 2025. Before that, Viet was a partner at two leading law firms, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Bancroft PLLC, the latter of which he founded. Viet was a professor at Georgetown University Law Center for 20 years, and was appointed U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy from 2001 to 2003. He currently serves on the Boards of Wonder, Inc., Strategic Education, Inc., and Kingspan Group Plc; and previously of Twenty-First Century Fox, the News Corporation, Revlon Inc., and LPL Financial Holdings, among other public companies. Viet graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
General Counsel, Shamrock Foods Company
Carrie Ryerson is the General Counsel for Shamrock Foods Company, a $4 billion dollar 100-year-old privately held company based in Phoenix, Arizona. Carrie is responsible for all legal, compliance, safety and risk management functions at Shamrock.
Starting with Shamrock as the in-house employment attorney several years ago, her role evolved into the head of a newly-created legal department with multiple attorneys and others who focus on, among other areas, risk management and compliance. She has created a sophisticated and mature legal organization that is efficient, effective and responsive. Every position within Shamrock that she has held was newly-created and were roles that she was the first to occupy. As a result, she was charged with creating the function, developing the duties, and establishing the internal and external partnerships to ensure each role’s meaningful impact on the enterprise.
Prior to joining Shamrock, Carrie practiced in the areas of commercial litigation, employment and complex civil appeals at Fennemore Craig, a leading firm in the Southwest. Carrie has a law degree from William & Mary School of Law where she was on the Bill of Rights Journal and published a note analyzing the constitutionality of an issue related to the census. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona. Carrie lives in Phoenix with her husband, son and daughter.
President, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
Caroline Fredrickson joined ACS in 2009 and serves as president. She oversees the group and provides a steady hand of leadership to the nation’s leading progressive legal organization.
During her tenure, Caroline has helped grow ACS, which now has more than 40 lawyer chapters across the country, student chapters in nearly every law school in the United States, and thousands of members throughout the nation. She is an eloquent spokesperson for ACS and the progressive movement on issues such as civil and human rights, judicial nominations and the importance of the courts in America, marriage equality, voting rights, the role of money in politics, labor law, anti-discrimination efforts, and so much more.
She has been widely published on a wide range of legal and constitutional issues and is a frequent guest on television and radio shows, including a notable and well-covered appearance on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor in 2012 defending the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Before joining ACS, Caroline served as the director of the ACLU’s Washington legislative office and as general counsel and legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America. In addition, Caroline was chief of staff to Sen. Maria Cantwell and deputy chief of staff to then-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. During the Clinton administration, she served as special assistant to the president for legislative affairs.
Caroline graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Russian and East European Studies in 1986 and from Columbia University School of Law with a J.D. in 1992. In law school, she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, served on the Columbia Law Review and co-founded the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. Following law school she clerked for James L. Oakes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She currently is a member of Law Students for Reproductive Justice's Advisory Board.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
On November 19, 2019, Judge Robert J. Luck was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit by President Donald Trump. Prior to serving on the federal bench, he was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 14, 2019. He previously served on the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami after his appointment there by Governor Rick Scott in March 2017.
Earlier, Judge Luck served on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida from September 2013 to March 2017. He presided in the Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. Judge Luck, in his years as a trial court judge, tried seventy jury trials, and heard dozens of appeals from the county court and municipal agencies. Judge Luck was appointed to the circuit court in 2013 and was elected by the voters of Miami-Dade County to retain his seat in 2016.
Prior to his service on the bench, Judge Luck was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. In his years as a federal prosecutor, he was assigned to the Appeals, Major Crimes, and Economic Crimes Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Judge Luck tried nineteen jury trials before the federal district court and argued three appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In his final year in the Office, he was a Deputy Chief in the Major Crimes Section.
Earlier in his career, Judge Luck was a legislative correspondent for two United States Senators, a law clerk and staff attorney to Circuit Judge Edward E. Carnes on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and a part of the Greenberg Traurig firm’s appellate section. Judge Luck received his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law magna cum laude and was asked to join the Order of the Coif. Judge Luck also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Law Review. Judge Luck received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Florida with highest honors.
Partner, Schaerr-Jaffe
Mark Paoletta represents clients in connection with government investigations, with an emphasis on congressional investigations and hearings. He also counsels clients on how to successfully navigate legislative and regulatory issues before the government. Mr. Paoletta served in senior positions in the Legislative and Executive Branches for more than eighteen years, and he brings that experience to effectively help his clients.
In private practice, Mr. Paoletta has successfully represented many Fortune 500 companies in congressional investigations, including companies in the following areas: pharmaceutical and healthcare; telecommunications and media; privacy and technology; hedge funds and banking; energy; defense contracting and services; and education. He has represented government officials in high-profile inquiries, including a Governor, a Mayor, and a senior White House official.
Mr. Paoletta served for a decade as Chief Counsel for Oversight and Investigations for the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure, Mr. Paoletta managed nearly 200 investigative hearings, many of which involved high-profile issues and investigating some of the largest U.S. corporations. Many of those investigations led to substantial revisions to federal law, regulations and public awareness on significant issues of the day.
Mr. Paoletta most recently served as General Counsel for the Office of Management & Budget in the Executive Office of the President during the Trump Administration. As General Counsel to what many consider the most powerful agency in Washington, D.C., Mr. Paoletta worked daily with agencies across the federal government to ensure programs were implemented consistent with the President's policies. Mr. Paoletta also worked closely with the other component offices within OMB, such as the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which reviews and signs off on every regulation issued by federal agencies. Mr. Paoletta also served as Counsel to Vice President Pence during the first year of the Trump Administration.
During his time in the Trump Administration, Mr. Paoletta helped prepare many nominees for confirmation hearings, including Cabinet nominees, several Court of Appeals nominees, and two Supreme Court nominees.
Mr. Paoletta also served in the White House as Assistant Counsel to President George H.W. Bush. In that position, he played a key role in the successful confirmation effort of United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Judge Duncan received his B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1994, his J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1997, and his LL.M. from Columbia Law School in 2004.
After graduating from law school, he clerked for Louisiana-based Circuit Judge John Malcolm Duhé Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
From 2008–2012, Duncan served as Appellate Chief for Louisiana's Attorney General's office. From 2012–2014, he served as general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. From 2004-2008, he was an assistant professor of law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
Before becoming a judge, Duncan practiced at the Washington, D.C. firm of Schaerr Duncan LLP, where he was a founding partner. He was appointed by President Trump to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on May 1, 2018.
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