Charles Edward Rice (August 7, 1931 – February 25, 2015) was an American legal scholar, Catholic apologist, and author of several books. He is best known for his career at the

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. The school enrolls about 600 students and in addition to the J.D. ...

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

. He began teaching there in 1969, and in 2000 earned professor emeritus status. During the time he was retired, he continued to teach classes at the University of Notre Dame until 2014.

Early life and career

Rice was of Irish descent and his father was active in

Irish-American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

organizations in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He lived with his wife, Mary, in

Mishawaka, Indiana Mishawaka () is a city on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Misha ...

. They had 10 biological children and 41 grandchildren, and adopted a son from

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. Rice received a B.A. degree from the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

, a J.D. from

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is situated on a campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about from the university's main campus in Chestn ...

and LL.M. and J.S.D. from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He practiced law in

and taught at

New York University Law School The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

and

Fordham Law School Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

before joining, in 1969, the faculty of law at Notre Dame.

Career

He was instrumental in the founding of the

Conservative Party of New York The Conservative Party of New York State is an List of political parties in the United States, American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the New York Republican State Committee, Republican Party in New Y ...

in the 1960s. He served as vice-chairman of the party from 1962 to 1969. Rice served in the

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

and was a retired lieutenant colonel who served in the

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedi ...

. From 1981 to 1993, Rice was a member of the Education Appeal Board of the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...

. He also served as a consultant to the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility f ...

and to various Congressional committees on constitutional issues and was an editor of the ''American Journal of Jurisprudence''. He was a member of the governing boards of

Franciscan University of Steubenville Franciscan University of Steubenville is a Private university, private Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance, Franciscan university in Steubenville, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2023, the university enrolled 3,750 students in 40 under ...

and the

Eternal Word Television Network The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...

. He served as chairman of the Center for Law and Justice International in New Hope, Kentucky, and a director of the

Thomas More Law Center The Thomas More Law Center is a Christian, conservative, nonprofit, public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, and active throughout the United States. According to the Thomas More Law Center website, its goals are ...

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. He was an assistant coach of the Notre Dame Boxing Club. Rice was one of the co-founders of

Ave Maria School of Law Ave Maria School of Law is a private Roman Catholic law school in Naples, Florida. It was founded in 1999 and is accredited by the American Bar Association. History and governance Ave Maria School of Law was founded in 1999, accepting its fir ...

in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is also a board member of Blackstone Fellowship the Christian conservative legal training program run by

Alliance Defending Freedom The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious practices within public schools and in government. ADF is most known ...

Publications

Video lectures

Rice made several video lectures on

Natural Law Theory Natural law (, ) is a philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts that certai ...

and other topics, including ''The Good Code'' for

EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...

, ''Right Reason with Dr. Charles Rice'' alongside

Michael Voris Michael Voris is an American Catholic author, speaker and apologist. Voris was the president of St. Michael's Media, a Christian right-wing outlet he founded to produce catechetical and news videos and articles on the website Church Militant. In ...

for Church Militant.tv, and ''Natural Law: What It Is and Why We Need It'' for International Catholic University.

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Columns

Rice was a regular columnist for ''

The Irish Rover "The Irish Rover" ( Roud 4379) is an Irish folk song about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, with the lyrics changing over time due to the folk process. T ...

'', a student-run newspaper serving the University of Notre Dame campus.

References

* http://law.nd.edu/people/faculty-and-administration/teaching-and-research-emeriti-faculty/charles-e-rice * Rice, Charles E. (1990). ''No Exception: A Pro-Life Imperative''. Human Life International. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Charles E. 1931 births Alliance Defending Freedom people University of Notre Dame faculty College of the Holy Cross alumni Boston College Law School alumni New York University School of Law alumni United States Marine Corps officers New York University faculty Fordham University faculty Ave Maria School of Law faculty Notre Dame Law School faculty Conservative Party of New York State politicians People from Mishawaka, Indiana People from St. Joseph County, Indiana 2015 deaths American political party founders American legal scholars 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists