S. Ernie Walton, J.D.

Bio

Ernie Walton currently serves as Interim Dean. Before this role, he served as the Senior Associate Dean and Associate Professor, where he taught various courses, including Sales, Business Structures & Agency, International Law, National Security Law, and International Business Transactions. He was voted the 2L/3L Professor of the Year in 2024, won the Chancellor’s Award in 2023, and served as the Director of the Center for Global Justice from 2013-2023.

Outside of his work at Regent, Walton served as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Arthur Kelsey of the Virginia Supreme Court. He also practiced law in Southern California at Tyler & Bursch, LLP, where he specialized in civil litigation and business law. He also simultaneously served as an associate attorney at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a non-profit law firm that specializes in protecting religious freedom. Through Advocates, Walton represented various churches in RLUIPA cases and helped defend pastors arrested for evangelizing on public property, among other things.

At Regent, Walton graduated first in his class, served as the Notes and Comments Editor of Regent University Law Review, and clerked for the American Center for Law and Justice. He is also a Blackstone Fellow (2009) and former mentor (2010).

Walton lives in Chesapeake, VA, with his wife, who he met at Regent Law, and their two children, Caleb and Evangeline. He is an ordained pastor at Redeemer Church, loves Philadelphia sports, and enjoys coaching his children in soccer.

Credentials

• B.S., Houghton College, Business Administration/Economics, magna cum laude
• J.D., Regent University School of Law, summa cum laude

Publications

• Parental Preclusion Policies: Do Parents Have Standing to Challenge Them Before Enforcement?, 6 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y (Spring 2025).
• Charter Schools and State Action: An Analysis Through the Lens of Agency Law, 77 Okla. L. Rev. 1 (2025).
• Religious Charter Schools: The Time Has Come, Regent University Law Review, Pro Tempore, (June 2023).
• In Loco Parentis, the First Amendment, and Parental Rights—Can they Coexist in Public Schools?, 55 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 461 (2023).
• Gender Identity Ideology: The Totalitarian, Unconstitutional Takeover of America’s Public Schools, 34 Regent U. L. Rev. 219 (2022).
• The Fundamental Right to Homeschool: A Historical Response to Professor Bartholet, 25 Texas Rev. L. & Pol. 377 (2021).
• Protecting Sex Trafficking Victims Through Expungement and Vacatur Statutes: Will Virginia Join the Rest of the Nation? 6 Regent J. Glob. Just. & Pub. Pol'y 95 (2020).
• The Judicial Philosophy of Chief Justice John Roberts: An Analysis Through the Eyes of International Law, 30 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 391 (2016).
• Preserving the European Convention on Human Rights: Why the UK's Threat to Leave the Convention Could Save It, 42. Cap. U. L. Rev. 977 (2014).
• Conservatives Should Attack Obergefell's Interpretive Method, Not Its Hijacking of the Democratic Process (2015).
• How Zivotofksy II and the Conservative Divide Over the Foreign Affairs Power Could Impact the Trump Administration, 46 Cap. U. L. Rev. 471 (2018).

Other Articles

• Pierce at 100, Law & Liberty (May 30, 2025).
• Will SCOTUS Greenlight the Nation’s First Religious Charter School? |, Civitas Institute (May 22, 2025).
• Victory at the Supreme Court: Idaho Can Protect Children from Destructive Gender Transition ‘Medical Treatment’, The American Spectator (April 22, 2024)
• Supreme Court Must Protect Parental Rights From the Transgender Movement in John and Jane Parents vs. MBCE, The American Spectator (April 11, 2024)
• New Fight for Life: Chemical Abortion Access Threatens Vulnerable Women, Washington Times (March 18, 2024)
• Medically Transitioning Minors: The 6th Circuit Strikes Back, The American Spectator (July 21, 2023)
• Transgenderism: Parents Do Not Have A Right to Physically Harm Their Children, The American Spectator (June 28, 2023)
• No, Judge Hinkle, Gender Identity Is Not Real, Nor Legally Relevant, The American Spectator (June 12, 2023)
• Oklahoma — And Every Other State — Must Approve Religious Charter Schools, The American Spectator (May 8, 2023)
• An Open Letter to the NFL: “Let the Play Continue” and Change the Standard of Review
• UN Treaty Touts 'Rights' But Separates Families
• Ireland's Abortion Prohibition Does Not Violate International Human Rights Law
• ECHR: No Right to 'Same-Sex' Marriage, But for How Long?
• Virginia Voters, Beware the Weaponization of Teachers
• Yes, CRT Is Being Taught in Public Schools
• Why Virginians Should Be Terrified of Terry McAuliffe

Amicus Briefs

• Amicus Brief Amicus Curiae Professors S. Ernie Walton and Eric DeGroff, John and Jane Parents v. Montgomery County Bd. of Educ.
• Amicus Brief of Amicus Curiae Professors S. Ernie Walton and Eric DeGroff, Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District.
• Amicus Brief of Amicus Curiae Professors S. Ernie Walton and Eric DeGroff, Mahmoud v. Taylor.
• Amicus Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor S. Ernie Walton, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond.