Our condolences to the family of C. Boyden Gray on his passing. He was a friend to the conservative legal movement and a defender of the rule of law. Ambassador Boyden Gray spoke at the RNLA National Policy Conference often, most recently in 2021. But we remember him best as the 2008 recipient of the Hon. Edwin Meese III Award and for giving the keynote address at our 2008 National Policy Conference. (Pictured below with fellow Meese Award winner Dick Wiley.)

In When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives, Heather Mac Donald addresses the causes of racial disparities in outcomes in education, culture, and other areas. She expertly and with exhaustive research makes the case that the true cause of outcome disparities is not what has become a conventional wisdom of racism, but rather, the gap in academic skills and educational opportunities between black and white Americans.

Mac Donald traces the beginning of the racism conventional wisdom to the 1971 opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Griggs v. Duke Power. Prior to Griggs, only deliberate and intentional discrimination stated a claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and similar statutes. In Griggs, the Court adopted a disparate impact theory, finding for the first time that measuring outcomes rather than intent could create liability for discrimination. As Mac Donald reports, disparate impact analysis now pervades not just the law, but all of culture. Indeed, she writes, “The concept of disparate impact is destroying America’s core institutions in the name of inviting invented racism.”

During the 2022 National Policy Conference, RNLA presented the Junior Senator from Arkansas, Tom Cotton, with this year's Hon. Edwin Meese III Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges.

On April 1, 2022, RNLA hosted its annual National Policy Conference in Arlington, Virginia to hear from several speakers on issues pertinent to Republican lawyers.  A crowd favorite was Ilya Shapiro, author of “Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations & the Politics of America’s Highest Court,” who discussed the Supreme Court nomination process and public discourse on the role of the courts.

The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) is pleased to announce that Kevin Hanratty is the recipient of the 2022 Betty Murphy Award, which will be presented at the National Policy Conference on April 1, in Arlington, Virginia. Kevin is a banking consultant and attorney in Queens, New York, where he serves as a member of the New York City Districting Commission.  Kevin has been a long-time leader of the RNLA’s New York Chapter. 

RNLA’s National Policy Conference is in one week and we thought we would highlight four of the speakers' views on the just-completed Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.  But as Senator Tom Cotton, who will be awarded the Ed Meese Award at the conference, points out:

The media's cheerleading for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation, despite her soft-on-crime record, goes beyond bias—it's propaganda.

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 24, 2022

The Republican National Lawyers Association is excited to announce that Senator Tom Cotton is the recipient of the 2022 Hon. Edwin Meese III Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges. The award will be presented at RNLA's 2022 National Policy Conference in Arlington, Virginia. RNLA Executive Director Michael Thielen stated:

This award was meant for those who stand up to the slings and arrows of false accusations from liberals such as The New York Times. Cotton has not only stood up, he has been proven right time and time again.

Senator Cotton was one of the first to talk about the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Chinese lab, and the media crucified him. Yet as time passed, reality backed Senator Cotton's warnings.

RNLA leaders from past and present share their thoughts and memories in advance of RNLA Founding Chair Bob Horn's funeral. 

The services for Robert Jack Horn, who passed away on Thursday, February 27, 2020, will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at 3:45pm at Sixth and I Synagogue, 600 I Street NW Washington, DC. 

Please join his family and friends to celebrate his remarkable life and then join the family immediately after for a reception at DBGB at 931 H St., NW, which is a short 5-minute walk from the service.   In lieu of flowers, Bob would be pleased if you would consider donating to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  or the RNLA's Bob Horn Fund for Law Students.

"Robert Horn was known as a leading light in the Republican legal community for decades. As the Founding Chairman of the RNLA, Bob was a tireless advocate for election integrity and the fight for a conservative judiciary. I also want to recognize Bob for his work on behalf of the RNC over the years, particularly his service as parliamentarian and counsel during several national conventions. We will greatly miss Bob but will remember with fondness his many contributions to the Republican Party.”

-RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel

On April 5th, Congressman Doug Collins addressed the RNLA’s National Policy Conference in Washington, DC. Rep. Collins, the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, shared a number of insights related to his experiences legislating and promoting the conservative message in his district.

Last Friday, the RNLA hosted its 19th annual National Policy Conference, featuring 2019 Ed Meese III Award winner Senator Lindsey Graham, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, former Independent Counsel Ken Starr, 2019 Betty Murphy Award winner Mike Davis, and many legal experts speaking on panels.  The conference focused on Deregulation and the Administrative State, highlighting what Republicans are doing at the federal level under President Trump and the state level to ease regulatory burdens.  C-SPAN broadcast the morning sessions, and video can be watched here.