Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s majority opinions in Romer, Lawrence, Windsor, and the pending Obergefell marriage cases, judges, government of officials, and LGBT activists are seeking to redefine marriage, sexuality, and gender identity in law and public policy. How do these redefinitions intersect with the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and related state laws and policies?
Matthew Kacsmaryk
Ma hew Kacsmaryk is Deputy General Counsel and Managing Director of Direct Litigation, Research, and Education. Mr. Kacsmaryk served as an Assistant United States A orney for the Northern District of Texas from 2008 through 2013. Assigned to the Appellate Division, he represented the United States government in over 75 criminal appeals led in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, including several cases of first impression and numerous cases requiring oral argument. Mr. Kacsmaryk also served on two Criminal Division trial teams that prosecuted high profile, violent defendants and was responsible for all appellate litigation arising under the First Amendment, Sixth Amendment, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. While at the United States Attorney’s Office, he served as a CLE instructor, an appellate liaison to the Criminal Division, and an Adjunct Lecturer on Free Speech and the First Amendment at Southern Methodist University, Meadows School of the Arts. In October 2013, he was awarded the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security. Prior to his work as a prosecutor, Mr. Kacsmaryk was an associate at the Dallas office of Baker Botts L.L.P., where he focused on commercial, constitutional, and intellectual property litigation, representing national, regional, and local clients. In 2005, he received the furm’s Opus Justitiae Award for Outstanding Commitment to Pro Bono Work. Mr. Kacsmaryk received his J.D. from the University of Texas, graduating with Honors. While at the University of Texas, he was awarded the Dean’s Achievement Award in Constitutional Law II and Telecommunications Law, served as an Executive Editor of the Texas Review of Law & Politics, and was a member of The Federalist Society, Christian Legal Society, and Bible Study Fellowship. Mr. Kacsmaryk received his B.A. summa cum laude from Abilene Christian University, where he was a Trustee Scholar and a member of the Jack Pope Fellows Program.
