Gene Schaerr

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Gene Schaerr in 2018

Gene C. Schaerr (born 15 April 1957)[1] is an American attorney.

Biography[]

Schaerr was born in Kanab, Utah, and educated in the public schools. In 1981, he received a B.A. degree from Brigham Young University, and then earned master's degrees in economics and philosophy from Yale University in 1985 and 1986. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1985, where he was a member of the Yale Law Journal, he served as a law clerk for D.C. Circuit Judge Ken Starr, and from 1986 to 1987 for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Warren Burger and Antonin Scalia.[1]

Schaerr is a veteran litigator in state and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.[2][3] In 2014, he was chosen to represent the state of Utah as outside counsel in Kitchen v. Herbert, the state's legal action defending the traditional definition of marriage.[3][4][5] In 2015, he also submitted an amici curiae brief on behalf of 100 scholars of marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges,[6] the landmark Supreme Court case on same-sex marriage. The brief argued, among other things, that consistent with patterns in European countries and American states that have adopted same-sex marriage, opposite-sex marriage rates will likely drop as a result of redefining marriage as a genderless institution. This will result, over the next fertility cycle (30 years), in fewer children born to married parents, fewer children born overall since unmarried women have lower birth rates, and more abortions since unmarried women have higher rates of abortion.[7] Although the latter claim was criticized in various press outlets,[8][9][10] Schaerr defended the brief and its use of decomposition analysis, a technique frequently used by demographers, on the blog Bench Memos.[11][12]

Schaerr has also represented members of the LGBTQ community, including seeking to vindicate the parental rights of a gay biological dad whose children (born to a surrogate mom) were taken from him and given to his former gay partner, who was not the biological father.[13]

See also[]

  • List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

References[]

  1. ^ a b George Bush: "Appointment of Gene C. Schaerr as Associate Counsel to the President," April 17, 1991. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=19483
  2. ^ "Gene C. Schaerr". Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech. n.d. Retrieved Oct 14, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Adams, Brooke (January 16, 2014). "Utah AG picks outside counsel in same-sex marriage fight". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  4. ^ Romboy, Dennis (2014-01-16). "Utah attorney general hires 3 lawyers to fight same-sex marriage ruling". Deseret News. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  5. ^ "Outside Counsel to Assist with Kitchen vs. Herbert Announced". Utah Office of the Attorney General. 28 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Brief of Amici Curiae - 100 Scholars of Marriage in Support of Respondents" (PDF). 2015.
  7. ^ see page 22 of Supreme Court amici brief.
  8. ^ Curtis M. Wong (21 April 2015). "Conservative Lawyer Gene Schaerr Argues That Marriage Equality Will Lead To Spike In Abortion Rates". The Huffington Post.
  9. ^ Daniel Woodruff (21 April 2015). "Utah scholars join others in arguing same-sex marriage will lead to abortions". KUTV.
  10. ^ Darren Wee (21 April 2015). "Christian lawyer: Gay marriage will cause 900,000 abortions". Gay Star News.
  11. ^ "100 Scholars: Requiring States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage Will Fundamentally Alter the Marriage 'Ecosystem,' Likely Reducing Opposite-Sex Marriage Rates". National Review Online. http://www.nationalreview.com. Retrieved 2015-10-14. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Advocates of Same-Sex Marriage Are Wrong to Claim It Poses No Risk to the Marriage Ecosystem". National Review Online. http://www.nationalreview.com. Retrieved 2015-10-14. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Matter of Renee P.-F. v Frank G." Justia Law. Retrieved 2021-04-29.

External links[]


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