Commencement Address presented at Spring Arbor University 2026 A.D. by the Hon. William Wagner (Ret), WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom (SAU); Distinguished Professor Emeritus Listen Watch President Ellis, members of the Board of Trustees, distinguished faculty and staff, families and friends—and most especially, graduates: Congratulations. You have earned this moment. You survived examinations, clinics, research papers, presentations, deadlines, group projects— An

The Rule of Law. The phrase is familiar. Its meaning is revolutionary. The Rule of Law does not mean that society has laws. Every tyranny has laws. The Rule of Law means that those who exercise power remain subject to law. Under the Rule of Law, the central question for a public official is not what result do I desire? It is what authority has lawfully been entrusted to me? That question has guided much of my own thinking about constitutional interpretation. I believe deeply

DETROIT, MI — October 28, 2026 — What does it mean to be faithful to the Constitution when personal convictions, political pressures, or desired outcomes point in another direction? That question stood at the center of a keynote address delivered by former federal judge William Wagner at a Federalist Society event hosted by Wayne State University Law School. Wagner, Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Spring Arbor University's Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, challenged

Judicial Independence, Political Pressure, and the Rule of Law Presented by the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Michigan State University College of Law — Federalist Society Event - October 21, 2026 I. INTRODUCTION: THE QUESTION BEHIND THE QUESTION Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here at Michigan State University College of Law. I am grateful to the Federalist Society for inviting us to consider a question that reaches the ve

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Honorable William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Constitutional Law and Distinguished Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University, participated in a Federalist Society debate at Michigan State University College of Law examining judicial independence, political pressure, and the rule of law. The debate addressed whether America's judiciary remains genuinely independent of political influence and whether p

Michigan voters will decide this November whether to convene a constitutional convention to consider rewriting the state's Constitution. For citizens committed to the sanctity of human life, religious liberty, parental rights, and limited government, the question presents both an extraordinary opportunity and a substantial risk. Proposal 1 appears on the ballot not because of a petition drive or legislative initiative, but because Michigan's Constitution expressly requires it

An Update to “Life Holds Value at Every Stage – A Canadian Horror Story” In our September 25 Waypoint article, “Life Holds Value at Every Stage – A Canadian Horror Story,” we examined the troubling consequences of Canada's expanding euthanasia regime. Through the heartbreaking account of Brigitte Stegemann, an elderly Canadian woman whose family raised serious questions about the circumstances surrounding her medically administered death, we called for a return to a fundament

The Department of Justice's newly released report provides a documentary account of federal investigations involving parents who challenged public school policies. Its findings invite a deeper examination of governmental authority, constitutional liberty, and the fundamental rights of parents. A government that fears the voices of parents has forgotten whom it serves. During my years serving as a federal prosecutor and later as a federal judge, I learned the indispensable imp

The Quiet Power to Shape What We Think While researching a constitutional issue recently, I encountered something that unsettled me. The legal question itself was difficult but not obscure. I was examining the interaction between a proposed constitutional provision, parental rights, and the protection of human life. Yet reaching a clear answer required repeated probing, careful reformulation, and persistence. Eventually, the analysis emerged. But the experience left me thinki

I lived much of my life in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, and all my children were born there. That is why Question 1, the constitutional abortion amendment on November 3’s ballot, concerns me as both a father and a constitutional scholar. Beneath its language of freedom lies a threat to children before and after birth. My children’s birth certificates recorded their arrival, not the beginning of their humanity. Their worth did not depend on being wanted. Every human bei

Fifty years ago, Congress drew a moral line. On September 30, 1976, it enacted the first Hyde Amendment, providing that federal Medicaid funds generally could not be used to pay for abortions. Congress has renewed that protection in annual appropriations ever since.1 The Hyde Amendment prevents the federal government from compelling taxpayers to finance most abortions. That distinction reflects both constitutional restraint and moral clarity. It also respects the deeply held

“They’re going to kill me?” Those words should stop us cold. According to her family, 83-year-old Brigitte Stegemann asked that question after her granddaughter explained what Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program would do. Brigitte suffered from advanced stomach cancer. She was elderly. She was vulnerable. And on July 10, 2026, a medical professional intentionally ended her life by lethal injection. Her family says Brigitte had earlier rejected physician-assisted kill

Coalition Urges Supreme Court to Protect Parents from Government Policies That Displace Their Authority Over the Care and Upbringing of Their Children SPRING ARBOR, Mich. — September 15, 2026 — The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University today joined a major coalition of national organizations and leaders in filing an amicus curiae brief before the Supreme Court of the United States defending the fundamental constitutional right of parents to direct the care

A Labor Day Reflection on Work, Calling, and the Glory of God Each year on Labor Day, Americans rightly pause to honor the men and women whose work built our communities, sustained our families, strengthened our economy, and helped make this nation great. But for the Christian, Labor Day invites us to consider something deeper. We were created to work. Properly understood, work is part of God's design for human life. Work is not something to endure so that we can enjoy the we

An Analysis of the Education Freedom Tax Credit -- A significant new chapter in American education policy is about to begin. Last year, Congress enacted the nation's first federal tax-credit program supporting educational choice. As implementation approaches, the Education Freedom Tax Credit provides an important opportunity to consider what good governance requires when government acts in a sphere where the rights and responsibilities of others precede the State. Indeed, th

Reflections on Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission The American constitutional order begins with the first principle that civil government may exercise only limited power. Among the most important of those limits is that government holds no authority to define authentic religious belief or determine how citizens must express their faith. Such belong to God, and to the religious communities that seek to obey Him. Whenever the State a

The American constitutional order rests upon a profound assumption. Law possesses an objective meaning that exists independently of the preferences of judges.[1] The Constitution was not written as a collection of vague aspirations to be reshaped by each generation of political elites. Rather, it was framed as a governing charter with words intended to communicate definite meaning, preserve liberty, and structure representative government. When judges faithfully interpret tho

The State Department’s $3.8 billion commitment to U.N.-administered relief tests whether American compassion abroad remains accountable to American law, policy, and national interests. The State Department’s decision to commit $3.8 billion in American humanitarian assistance to United Nations–administered funds raises a serious question of constitutional stewardship. Who ultimately controls how the U.N. system allocates and conditions those taxpayer dollars? In a recent Herit

Why Moving Power out of Washington Must Mean More Than Rearranging the Bureaucracy DETROIT NEWS| Opinion (Hon. Wm Wagner) - Updated July 31, 2026, 9:57 p.m. ET The House Education and Workforce Committee’s Less Bureaucracy, Better Education package challenges Washington to acknowledge that federal bureaucracy is not necessary for educational excellence. Recognizing that truth does not diminish the real needs these programs address. A principled case for reform must protect st

The Department of Justice’s newly issued guidance on religious liberty, and the legal basis for it, deserves our attention. Although it lacks the drama of a Supreme Court opinion, its practical effect may prove equally significant. The Guidance directs every federal agency to interpret and administer federal law in light of nearly a decade of Supreme Court decisions reaffirming America’s first freedom. That development reflects an abiding constitutional truth. Religious liber