Mr. Shackelford is a constitutional scholar who has argued before the United States Supreme Court, testified before the U.S. House and Senate on constitutional issues, and has won three state landmark First Amendment and religious liberty cases in the past few years alone. He was recently named one of the 25 greatest Texas lawyers of the past quarter-century by Texas Lawyer, and is the recipient of the prestigious William Bentley Ball Award for Life and Religious Freedom Defense for his leadership and pioneering work protecting religious freedom.

Erin Smith serves as Associate Counsel at First Liberty Institute.

Before joining First Liberty, Erin served as Assistant General Counsel for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. She also served as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Unit.

Erin graduated summa cum laude from the Oklahoma City University School of Law, where she was recognized as the J. William Conger Distinguished Student for the Class of 2022 and received the T. Hurley Jordan Award for Excellence in Criminal Procedure. During law school, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Oklahoma City University Law Review, president of the OKC Student Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society and vice president of the OCU Christian Legal Society. She externed for the Solicitor General of Oklahoma, and published her Note, Almost Only Counts in Horseshoes, Hand Grenades … and Hardison? The 45-year Reign Continues, in the Oklahoma City University Law Review. Erin spent her summers interning at First Liberty Institute and the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General.

Erin received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Oklahoma State University in 2019, graduating summa cum laude.

Erin is licensed to practice law in Oklahoma.

Behind each lawsuit, there is a person of faith who felt a conviction to say, “I will fight.” They are the everyday heroes without a cape.

First Liberty Institute filed a friend-of-the-court brief at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of Grace Church St. Louis (MO) and New Way Church (FL) in support of ...

The Trump administration updated HHS rules in 2017 to create an exemption for employers that held religious or moral objections to the contraception mandate.

Trump announced his plans for a federal takeover of the Washington, D.C. police department on Monday following a spate of recent violent crimes in the capital.

By: Roger Kimball - thespectator.com - August 13, 2025 Trump is giving Americans back their cultural and educational institutions Back in March, Donald Trump issued an executive order called “Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History.” Its ...

“Destroying democracy”—the latest theme of the left—can be defined in many different ways. How about attempting to destroy constitutional, ancient, and hallowed institutions simply to suit short-term…

The fertility rate in the United States just hit 1.6 children per woman, an all time low. The replacement rate — the level that will keep the population stable —  is 2.1 children per woman in the U.S. and 2.25 globally. Drop below 2 and depopulation begins.