May 30, 2025, Washington, D.C. – The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) will posthumously honor Judge Ken Starr with our 2025 Defender of Religious Freedom Award.

This award is given on the occasion of the RFI Annual Dinner and is intended to celebrate “a person who has defended religious freedom for everyone, everywhere from within his or her faith tradition.” This year’s award ceremony and dinner will be held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. on November 6th.

“From my time working with Ken during his earliest days at Baylor, I grew to have the deepest admiration for him as a jurist, tireless defender of religious freedom, man of deep faith, and winsome leader,” said RFI President David Trimble. “Ken became a mentor, colleague, and friend, and, most importantly, he was (and remains) my brother in Christ. For all of these reasons, and countless others, I am overcome with joy and gratitude at this opportunity to honor Ken’s extraordinary legacy of defending America’s first freedom.”

Judge Starr argued 36 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including his time serving as U.S. Solicitor General. He served as United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, as Counselor and Chief of Staff to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith, and law clerk to both Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and to Fifth Circuit Judge David W. Dyer. 

Making immense contributions in higher education, he served as President and Chancellor of Baylor University and Dean of the Pepperdine School of Law. And for 25 years he taught constitutional law as an adjunct or visiting professor at five law schools. 

Judge Starr served as a partner at two national law firms, as well as, on the boards of Advocates International, the Supreme Court Historical Society, and the Christian Legal Society. 

The author of more than 25 publications, Judge Starr also received numerous public honors and awards. He received the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Distinguished Service Award, the Jefferson Cup award from the FBI, the Edmund Randolph Award for Outstanding Service in the Department of Justice and the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. He also received honorary doctoral degrees from Hampton Sydney College, Shenandoah University, and Pepperdine University.

Judge Starr earned his undergraduate degree from George Washington University, a master’s degree from Brown University, and his law degree from Duke University Law School. He was admitted to practice in Texas, California, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and the United States Supreme Court.

“Ken Starr and I began our public service in Washington, D.C. the same year and for decades joined together to defend the precious right of religious freedom,” said former Congressman Frank Wolf. “After I retired from Congress, I had the privilege of collaborating with him in an entirely different setting when I was named Wilson Chair in Religious Freedom at Baylor during Ken’s tenure as president there. Ken was a man of deep principle and conviction, and his ardent devotion to America and to securing religious freedom for everyone flowed from his higher devotion to Jesus Christ. RFI’s Defender of Religious Freedom Award is a fitting tribute to my dear friend.”

“I had the privilege of knowing Ken Starr personally and professionally for decades and found him to be an exemplary lawyer and public servant,” said Alan Dershowitz, renowned constitutional scholar and Professor Emeritus at Harvard Law School. “Of the many issues he was called upon to deal with in his vast career, none were more important to him than preserving robust constitutional safeguards for religious freedom. Ken is as deserving of this award as anyone could be.” 

“Ken Starr lived a remarkable life in the law, as a Judge, Solicitor General, Independent Counsel, law school dean, university president, and defense lawyer,” said former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement. “One of the through lines in his remarkable career was Ken’s commitment to religious liberty.  I saw that commitment first hand in my first case with him—the Wisconsin school choice case—and in teaming up with him years later to defend the First Amendment rights of elementary school students. I am pleased to join RFI in celebrating Ken’s decades-long commitment to upholding America’s extraordinary free exercise tradition.”

“I had the privilege of serving in Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law during Ken’s tenure as its dean, and I witnessed his deep love for our students and extraordinary leadership,” said Jim Gash, President of Pepperdine University. “His friendship, guidance, and encouragement throughout those years will always remain with me. And I am delighted to join with RFI in defending religious freedom in America, Africa, and elsewhere, and in celebrating the life and legacy of Ken Starr, one of religious freedom’s great champions.”

“Ken Starr was a dear friend, mentor, and counselor,” said RFI President Emeritus Tom Farr. “His support and encouragement were integral in the creation of RFI, and its predecessor, the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University. Ken’s fierce defense of religious freedom will always be part of his invaluable legacy, upon which we can all continue to draw during this divisive and tumultuous time in our beloved country.”

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The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) works to secure religious freedom for everyone, everywhere. RFI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C.

Media Contact: Nathan Berkeley
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