S. Ernie Walton, J.D.

Bio

Dean Walton serves as Associate Dean of Administration & Admissions, director of Regent Law’s Center for Global Justice®, and Assistant Professor, where he has taught various courses, including Sales, Business Structures & Agency, International Law, National Security Law, and International Business Transactions.

Outside of his work at Regent, Ernie served as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Arthur Kelsey of the Virginia Supreme Court. He also practiced law in Southern California at Tyler & Bursch, LLP, where he specialized in civil litigation and business law. He also simultaneously served as an associate attorney at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a non-profit law firm that specializes in protecting religious freedom. Through Advocates, Ernie represented various churches in RLUIPA cases and helped defend pastors who were arrested for evangelizing on public property, among other things.

At Regent, Ernie graduated first in his class, served as the Notes and Comments Editor of Regent University Law Review, and clerked for the American Center for Law and Justice. Ernie is also a Blackstone Fellow (2009) and former mentor (2010).

Ernie lives in Chesapeake, VA with his wife, who he met at Regent Law, and their two children, Caleb and Evangeline. Ernie is an ordained pastor at Redeemer Church, loves Philadelphia sports, and enjoys coaching his children in soccer.

Credentials

B.S., Houghton College, Business Administration/Economics, magna cum laude

J.D., Regent University School of Law, summa cum laude

Publications

In Loco Parentis, the First Amendment, and Parental Rights—Can they Coexist in Public Schools?, 55 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 461 (2023).

Gender Identity Ideology: The Totalitarian, Unconstitutional Takeover of America’s Public Schools, 34 Regent U. L. Rev. 219 (2022).

The Fundamental Right to Homeschool: A Historical Response to Professor Bartholet, 25 Texas Rev. L. & Pol. 377 (2021).

Protecting Sex Trafficking Victims Through Expungement and Vacatur Statutes: Will Virginia Join the Rest of the Nation? 6 Regent J. Glob. Just. & Pub. Pol'y 95 (2020).

The Judicial Philosophy of Chief Justice John Roberts: An Analysis Through the Eyes of International Law, 30 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 391 (2016).

Preserving the European Convention on Human Rights: Why the UK's Threat to Leave the Convention Could Save It, 42. Cap. U. L. Rev. 977 (2014).

Conservatives Should Attack Obergefell's Interpretive Method, Not Its Hijacking of the Democratic Process (2015).

How Zivotofksy II and the Conservative Divide Over the Foreign Affairs Power Could Impact the Trump Administration, 46 Cap. U. L. Rev. 471 (2018).

Other Articles

Medically Transitioning Minors: The 6th Circuit Strikes Back, The American Spectator (July 21, 2023)

Transgenderism: Parents Do Not Have A Right to Physically Harm Their Children, The American Spectator (June 28, 2023)

No, Judge Hinkle, Gender Identity Is Not Real, Nor Legally Relevant, The American Spectator (June 12, 2023)

Oklahoma — And Every Other State — Must Approve Religious Charter Schools, The American Spectator (May 8, 2023)

An Open Letter to the NFL: “Let the Play Continue” and Change the Standard of Review

UN Treaty Touts 'Rights' But Separates Families

Ireland's Abortion Prohibition Does Not Violate International Human Rights Law

ECHR: No Right to 'Same-Sex' Marriage, But for How Long?

Virginia Voters, Beware the Weaponization of Teachers

Yes, CRT Is Being Taught in Public Schools

Why Virginians Should Be Terrified of Terry McAuliffe