Luke Goodrich, Esq.Deputy National Litigation Director
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Luke Goodrich joined the Becket Fund as Legal Counsel in 2008. Since then, he has represented religious organizations and individuals in a wide array of religious liberty disputes at both the trial and appellate level, including cases brought under the Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause, Free Speech Clause, and RLUIPA. In 2009, Luke was appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Colorado and argued an Establishment Clause appeal on behalf of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and the Becket Fund.
Before joining the Becket Fund, Luke was an associate in the appellate practice at Winston & Strawn in Washington, D.C. There, he represented clients at all levels of state and federal courts in environmental, patent, bankruptcy, criminal, and constitutional cases. He drafted numerous Supreme Court petitions and briefs, and successfully argued a Third Circuit appeal, overturning a state murder conviction and life sentence on constitutional grounds.
Luke received his B.A. in Philosophy, summa cum laude, from Wheaton College (IL). He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with high honors, where he was a member of the University of Chicago Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
After law school, he clerked for Judge Michael W. McConnell on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He also worked as an international legal and research advisor at the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Bar Memberships: Illinois, District of Columbia.
Recent Cases
Establishment Clause
American Atheists v. Duncan, No. 08-4061 (10th Circuit 2009) (pending). As Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Colorado, argued an appeal on behalf of the States of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, and The Becket Fund in a case involving the constitutionality of private roadside crosses erected to memorialize fallen state troopers.
Salazar v. Buono, No. 08-472 (Supreme Court 2009) (pending). Filed a friend-of-the-court brief at the U.S. Supreme Court defending the constitutionality of a 75-year-old cross that honors soldiers on federal land in the Mojave Desert.
Sunday, October 3, 2009 at 3pm, WAMU 88.5, a National Public Radio affiliate, will be airing the fascinating debate between Luke Goodrich and Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, on Salazar v. Buono.
The interview will also air Oct. 9-15 on 66 stations around the country; for the full list of when and where: http://interfaithradio.org/tunein. It will also be up on interfaithradio.org, starting this Friday, October 9.
Free Exercise Clause
Merced v. City of Euless, No. 08-10358 (5th Circuit 2009) (pending). Represent a Santeria priest who has been threatened with prosecution by city officials because he sacrifices animals as part of his religious practices.
Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, Nos. 07-36039, 07-36040 (9th Cir. 2009) (pending). Drafted petition for rehearing on behalf of pharmacists who were forced by state regulations either to dispense medication in violation of their religious beliefs or lose their jobs.
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
Moussazadeh v. Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice, No. 09-40400 (5th Circuit 2009) (pending). Represent a Jewish inmate in a lawsuit against the State of Texas, seeking kosher meals so the inmate will not be forced to violate Jewish law during his incarceration.
Vision Church v. Village of Long Grove, No. 06-1497 (Supreme Court 2007). Appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a Korean-American church that that was forbidden by municipal officials from building a church on its property in suburban Chicago.
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