Political party Republican Religion Baptist Movies Last Vegas, Come What May | Spouse(s) Vickie Farris Party Republican Party | |
 | ||
Born August 27, 1951 (age 65)
Spokane, Washington, U.S. ( 1951-08-27 ) Alma mater Western Washington University
Gonzaga University (J.D.)
University of London (LLM) Education Gonzaga University School of Law, Gonzaga University, University of London, Western Washington University Organizations founded Home School Legal Defense Association, Patrick Henry College Books Anonymous Tip, What a daughter needs fro, Forbid them not, The Joshua generation, The Home Schooling Father Similar Doug Phillips, Mike Farris, Patrick Henry, R C Sproul Jr, Jim Bob Duggar | ||
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 in Loudoun County in northern Virginia. He currently serves as CEO and General Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.
Contents
Personal life and education
Farris graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science from Western Washington University (formerly Western Washington State College). He received a law degree and graduated with honors from Gonzaga University School of Law. Farris received an LLM in public international law (with merit) from the University of London in 2011.
He married in 1971 and has ten children and eighteen grandchildren. He and his wife Vickie began home schooling in 1982, which led him to establish the Home School Legal Defense Association in 1983.
He was ordained in 1983 as a Baptist minister.
Career
In 1983, Farris founded the HSLDA, of which he served as chairman and general counsel. His efforts resulted in a number of court rulings and policy changes favoring home schooling. 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.
He also founded Patrick Henry College, which opened its doors 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.
He has been appointed by the Governor of Virginia to serve on the Board of Visitors for Mount Vernon (the home of George Washington).
Farris is the author of several books on homeschooling and family as well as the book From Tyndale to Madison, published in 2007. He has also written a few novels, including Guilt by Association (ISBN 978-0805401516), and Forbid Them Not (ISBN 978-0805424331). All of Farris' novels deal with Christian themes.
Education Week named Farris one of the most significant 100 "Faces of the Century."
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 successfully argued for the petitioner in a religious freedom case, the Supreme Court case Witters v. Washington Department of Services For the Blind in 1985–1986.
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. Prominent Virginia Republicans like U.S. Senator John Warner supported Beyer.
Farris was the founder and chairman of the Madison Project, a political action committee. He is also the founder of Generation Joshua, an organization for the mobilization of Christian youth to participate in politics and get out the vote. In 2007, he founded ParentalRights.org, a parental rights advocacy group.
Along with Mark Meckler, Farris is co-founder of the Convention of States Project, founded in 2013 to encourage a convention to propose amendments to the US Constitution. He has 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.