The Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) aims to promote scholarship that explores the relevance of the Catholic intellectual tradition for American constitutionalism. That tradition is deep and rich, including philosophical and theological accounts of law and politics by such figures as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. Although CIT’s primary focus is on theories of constitutional law, such as originalism, its ambit is broad and covers the relevance of the Catholic intellectual tradition for constitutional history, doctrine, and other fields of study. CIT will carry out its mission through such activities as guest lectures, conferences, courses offered through the Law School, a program on the Catholic intellectual tradition for young lawyers in the D.C. area (see the “Aquinas Fellowship” page), and a program of special events and offerings for students at The Catholic University of America (see the “Ex Corde Fellowship” page). The goal is for CIT to become the center of scholarly conversation about the relationship between the Catholic intellectual tradition and American constitutionalism and to reach beyond the academy to think tanks, young professionals, and the broader public.
The mission of the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition is to promote scholarship and educate the legal profession about the relationship between the Catholic intellectual tradition and American constitutionalism.
J. Joel Alicea
Co-Director
Professor J. Joel Alicea’s scholarship focuses on constitutional theory. His scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in the Yale Law Journal, Virginia Law Review, and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. He is also active in public debates about constitutional law, publishing essays in journals such as National Affairs and City Journal. Professor Alicea clerked for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., on the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Princeton University.
Kevin C. Walsh
Co-Director
Professor Kevin C. Walsh teaches and writes in the areas of federal jurisdiction and constitutional law. His scholarship focuses on doctrines that define the scope of federal judicial power, and has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, New York University Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, and the Notre Dame Law Review, among other venues. Professor Walsh clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge Paul V. Niemeyer on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the University of Notre Dame, and Dartmouth College.
Camden White
Associate Director
Camden White is the Associate Director for the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. He recently graduated from the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Theology as well as Constitutional Studies. During his undergraduate studies, he was a Sorin Fellow at the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, served on the March for Life organization team, participated in Club Boxing, and spent some time in the Navy ROTC program as a Marine Option.
Will Kamin
Fellow
Professor William M. M. Kamin teaches civil procedure, federal courts, criminal law,and immigration law. His scholarship focuses on how the history of the writ of habeas corpus – as developed in early-modern England by the Court of King’s Bench – bears on contemporary American habeas jurisprudence. He also writes in the areas of federal jurisdiction, land-use regulation, and law and religion. Prior to joining the faculty at Catholic Law, Professor Kamin served as a law clerk to Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Amherst College.
Chad Squitieri
Fellow
Professor Chad Squitieri’s scholarship focuses on administrative law and constitutional interpretation. His scholarship has appeared in the Missouri Law Review and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Previously, he served as an associate attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he was a member of the Appellate and Constitutional Law and Administrative Law and Regulatory practice groups. He previously served as a Special Assistant to former United States Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia, and as a law clerk for then-Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and Florida State University.
The Visiting Jurist Program brings some of the nation’s most respected judges to Catholic University’s campus to participate in the life of the Law School and the programming offered by CIT. During their stay at CUA, Visiting Jurists co-teach courses with CUA faculty, participate in CIT events, and enjoy meals with CUA faculty and students. Through the Visiting Jurist Program, CIT enhances its scholarly programming with the perspectives of leading jurists and provides opportunities for Catholic Law’s students to interact with some of the country’s best legal thinkers.
2023-2024 Visiting Jurists
Hon. Carlos G. Muñiz
Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Justice Carlos G. Muñiz was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 22, 2019, becoming the 89th Justice since statehood was granted in 1845. Justice Muñiz was elected by his colleagues to serve as Florida’s 57th Chief Justice beginning July 1, 2022. Prior to joining the Court, he served on the staff of Secretary Betsy DeVos as the general counsel of the United States Department of Education.
In addition to working as an attorney in the federal government and in private practice, Justice Muñiz had an extensive career in Florida state government. He served as the deputy attorney general and chief of staff to Attorney General Pam Bondi; as deputy chief of staff and counsel in the Office of the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives; as general counsel of the Department of Financial Services; and as deputy general counsel to Governor Jeb Bush.
Justice Muñiz is a graduate of the University of Virginia and of Yale Law School. After law school, he clerked for Judge José A. Cabranes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for Judge Thomas A. Flannery of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Justice Muñiz grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and attended Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He lives in Tallahassee with his wife, Katie Muñiz, and their three children.
Hon. Diane S. Sykes
Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Chief Judge Sykes was nominated to the Seventh Circuit by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2004. She became chief judge on July 4, 2020. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, she served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. She previously practiced law in Milwaukee and was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Terence Evans. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1980 and a law degree from Marquette Law School in 1984. Between college and law school, she was a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal.
Hon. Kyle Duncan
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Judge Duncan received his B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1994, his J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1997, and his LL.M. from Columbia Law School in 2004.
After graduating from law school, he clerked for Louisiana-based Circuit Judge John Malcolm Duhé Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
From 2008–2012, Duncan served as Appellate Chief for Louisiana's Attorney General's office. From 2012–2014, he served as general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. From 2004-2008, he was an assistant professor of law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
Before becoming a judge, Duncan practiced at the Washington, D.C. firm of Schaerr Duncan LLP, where he was a founding partner. He was appointed by President Trump to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on May 1, 2018.
Hon. Paul B. Matey
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Judge Paul Matey was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2019.
Before his judicial service, Judge Matey was a partner at Lowenstein Sandler in New Jersey where he practiced complex commercial litigation and criminal defense. Earlier, Judge Matey was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for University Hospital Newark, an academic medical center and teaching hospital.
He also served as the Deputy Chief Counsel to Governor Chris Christie, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of New Jersey, where he was awarded the Justice Department’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance.
He also practiced at the Washington D.C. firm of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, and served as a law clerk to judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton in 1993, and his juris doctorate, summa cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2001, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Seton Hall Law Review.
In 2019, Judge Matey was elected to membership in the American Law Institute and, since 2020, has served as an Adjunct Professor of Administrative Law at Seton Hall.
Hon. William H. Pryor, Jr.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
William H. Pryor Jr. serves as Chief Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
In 2013–18, he served on the United States Sentencing Commission and, in 2017–18, served as Acting Chair.
He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and previously taught as an adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University.
He served as the 45th Attorney General of Alabama from 1997 to 2004. When he took office, he was the youngest attorney general in the nation. In his reelection, he received the highest percentage of votes of any statewide candidate.
He graduated magna cum laude from Tulane Law School where he finished first in the common-law curriculum and was editor in chief of the Tulane Law Review. He then served as a law clerk for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
He is a member of The American Law Institute and an Adviser for the RESTATEMENT OF THE LAW THIRD, CONFLICT OF LAWS. He is a coauthor with Bryan Garner, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and several other judges of a treatise, THE LAW OF JUDICIAL PRECEDENT.
He has published in the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Yale Law & Policy Review, George Mason Law Review, Florida Law Review, Alabama Law Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, and Tulane Law Review. He has published op-eds in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Review, and USA Today. He has debated at National Lawyers’ Conventions of the Federalist Society (including on National Public Radio) and at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom. And he is listed among several “widely admired judicial writers” in Bryan Garner’s The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style.
He is a member of the Tulane Law School Hall of Fame and has received the Defender of the Constitution Award from the Heritage Foundation, the Jurist of the Year Award from the Texas Review of Law & Politics, and the St. Thomas More Award from the St. Thomas More Society of Atlanta. Judge Pryor is also a proud member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Hon. Paul B. Matey
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Judge Paul Matey was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2019.
Before his judicial service, Judge Matey was a partner at Lowenstein Sandler in New Jersey where he practiced complex commercial litigation and criminal defense. Earlier, Judge Matey was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for University Hospital Newark, an academic medical center and teaching hospital.
He also served as the Deputy Chief Counsel to Governor Chris Christie, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of New Jersey, where he was awarded the Justice Department’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance.
He also practiced at the Washington D.C. firm of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, and served as a law clerk to judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton in 1993, and his juris doctorate, summa cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2001, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Seton Hall Law Review.
In 2019, Judge Matey was elected to membership in the American Law Institute and, since 2020, has served as an Adjunct Professor of Administrative Law at Seton Hall.
Hon. William H. Pryor, Jr.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
William H. Pryor Jr. serves as Chief Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
In 2013–18, he served on the United States Sentencing Commission and, in 2017–18, served as Acting Chair.
He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Alabama School of Law and previously taught as an adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University.
He served as the 45th Attorney General of Alabama from 1997 to 2004. When he took office, he was the youngest attorney general in the nation. In his reelection, he received the highest percentage of votes of any statewide candidate.
He graduated magna cum laude from Tulane Law School where he finished first in the common-law curriculum and was editor in chief of the Tulane Law Review. He then served as a law clerk for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
He is a member of The American Law Institute and an Adviser for the RESTATEMENT OF THE LAW THIRD, CONFLICT OF LAWS. He is a coauthor with Bryan Garner, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and several other judges of a treatise, THE LAW OF JUDICIAL PRECEDENT.
He has published in the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Yale Law & Policy Review, George Mason Law Review, Florida Law Review, Alabama Law Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, and Tulane Law Review. He has published op-eds in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Review, and USA Today. He has debated at National Lawyers’ Conventions of the Federalist Society (including on National Public Radio) and at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom. And he is listed among several “widely admired judicial writers” in Bryan Garner’s The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style.
He is a member of the Tulane Law School Hall of Fame and has received the Defender of the Constitution Award from the Heritage Foundation, the Jurist of the Year Award from the Texas Review of Law & Politics, and the St. Thomas More Award from the St. Thomas More Society of Atlanta. Judge Pryor is also a proud member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Advisory Council of the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Hon. Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
United States Supreme Court
Honorary Chair of the Advisory Council
J. Budziszewski
Professor of Government and Philosophy
The University of Texas at Austin
Richard Ekins
Professor of Law and Constitutional Government
University of Oxford
Nicole Stelle Garnett
John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law
Notre Dame Law School
Sherif Girgis
Associate Professor of Law
Notre Dame Law School
Francis Russell Hittinger
Visiting Professor of Theology
Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
Maris Köpcke
Lecturer, Faculty of Law
University of Barcelona
Kurt Lash
E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor of Law
University of Richmond School of Law
Rev. Dominic Legge, O.P.
Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology
Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception
Jeffrey A. Pojanowski
Professor of Law
Notre Dame Law School
Lee J. Strang
John W. Stoepler Professor of Law & Values
The University of Toledo College of Law
J. Budziszewski
Professor of Government and Philosophy
The University of Texas at Austin
Richard Ekins
Professor of Law and Constitutional Government
University of Oxford
Nicole Stelle Garnett
John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law
Notre Dame Law School
Sherif Girgis
Associate Professor of Law
Notre Dame Law School
Francis Russell Hittinger
Visiting Professor of Theology
Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
Maris Köpcke
Lecturer, Faculty of Law
University of Barcelona
Kurt Lash
E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor of Law
University of Richmond School of Law
Rev. Dominic Legge, O.P.
Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology
Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception
Jeffrey A. Pojanowski
Professor of Law
Notre Dame Law School
Lee J. Strang
John W. Stoepler Professor of Law & Values
The University of Toledo College of Law