Gilbert and Aileen Chuck knew full well the death and destruction that stems from communism. During the Second World War, Aileen fled her home country of China to seek refuge in Hawaii. It was there that she met her husband, Gilbert, a doctor in the Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor. After the war, the Chucks moved to California to live out the American dream. Even in their passing, the Chucks wanted to make sure that their legacy of fighting communism was carried on. That is why CPAC is thrilled to announce the Gilbert and Aileen Chuck Fellowship for Law and Liberty.

The fellowship is designed to instill in law students those values in America’s founding documents that have made this country the greatest engine of human flourishing in history.

“The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited constitution.” (The Federalist No. 78)

The United States boasts the best legal system in the world – one that is characterized by the rule of law and the presumption of innocence. These fundamentals, however, are under attack as some seek to weaponize the justice system for political gain. Chuck fellows will learn about the American justice system by engaging in criminal justice advocacy at the state and federal level.

“. . . to the end it may be a government of laws and not of men.” (Mass. Const. art. 30.)

The federal government’s unmitigated expansion over the past century is, perhaps, most clearly seen in the growth of the administrative state. This leviathan has grown to a level unimaginable to the founders, and CPAC is working to whittle it down to size one regulation at a time. The current Administration is using a “whole of government approach” to push its radically progressive agenda of unfettered abortion access, forced DEI, greatly restricted property rights, and economically catastrophic environmental policy utilizing every agency. Chuck Fellows will work with the CPAC Center for Regulatory Freedom to comment on these disastrous regulations during the notice and comment period.

“Political scientists, editorial page writers, and cynics often depict judges as doing nothing other than writing their preferences into law. Careful observers of the judiciary do not make that mistake.” (The Honorable Frank H. Easterbrook, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts Forward, xxiii)

CPAC often has the opportunity to engage directly with the court system through amici. As CPAC continues to engage on important cases at the state and federal level, Chuck Fellows will have the opportunity to provide input on amici that we submit. As fellows engage in the litigation process, they will gain the ability to write persuasively and, perhaps more importantly, learn how to write the most persuasive argument for the judge assigned.

“[I]f everyone enjoyed the unrestricted use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, social progress, would be ceaseless, uninterrupted, and unfailing.” (Frederick Bastiat, The Law, p. 5.)

Finally, Chuck Fellows will benefit from the institutional knowledge of the nation’s oldest grassroots advocacy organization. CPAC, founded over fifty years ago by William F. Buckley Jr. as the American Conservative Union has defined conservatism for decades. CPAC defines conservatism as the belief that the greatest level of sovereignty resides in the individual. This definition informs every this we do. Fellows will work one-on-one with leaders in the conservative movement and will grow intellectually in a stimulating office environment. Not only will Chuck Fellows have the tools to be better lawyers, but better conservatives as well.

The conservative movement is in great need of more principled conservative lawyers who understand what makes America great. CPAC is looking for hardworking and intelligent law students who are willing to answer that call.