Paul Quast – Religious Liberty Essay Contest 2014: Second Place

Paul Quast is a third-year law student at the University of Notre Dame. His paper, “Religion’s Jurisdiction,” was awarded second place in the 2014 Religious Liberty Essay Contest. Paul was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from the Colorado College in 2010, where he majored in Religion and minored in Philosophy. During those studies Paul’s interest in religion and the law grew, and he gained a deep respect for the many ways people relate to the divine. Before coming to law school the Bishop of Paul’s Diocese told him to study the First Amendment and use that knowledge to help the Church and the Faithful. These last two years at Notre Dame have truly given Paul the opportunity to pursue that goal. During the summer of 2013, Paul worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom where he helped draft briefs on religious freedom for the Colorado Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. He spent this last summer working for the Identification and Human Trafficking Units at Colorado Legal Services in Denver. After graduation from Law School in May 2015, Paul will be clerking for William C. Griesbach, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Paul would like to particularly thank Richard Garnett and the faculty of the Notre Dame Law School for helping to foster his interest in religion and the law.