Did anyone know that Pat Roberston founded a law school? He did. Regent University was founded in 1978 by Robertson, who is also the founder and president of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).

Robertson is familiar to many for his tendency to get quoted; he’s said so many stupid things that Wikiquote has an entire page of alphabetized quotes dedicated to him. Here are a few of my favorites:

“The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”

“[Homosexuals] want to come into churches and disrupt church services and throw blood all around and try to give people AIDS and spit in the face of ministers.”

“Presbyterians are the spirit of the Antichrist.”

He’s also called for the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Seeing as that Robertson could use a lesson in basic human rights, he seems the least appropriate person to found a law school.

There are diploma mills out there everywhere, however, so why should there be concern about one particular Christian law school? The fact is, 150 graduates of Pat Robertson’s law school are working in the United States government for President Bush; Regent University’s own Web site touts the fact.

Monica Goodling, the third-ranking member of the Justice Department, who abruptly resigned because of the U.S. attorney firings, is a graduate of Regent University. When I think of the Justice Department, I don’t think of lawyers trained by a televangelist. Prestigious law schools across the country, including our own, come to mind.

U.S. News and World Report does a popular ranking of universities around the world. Unsurprisingly, Regent University was given the lowest possible ranking by the magazine.

Most law schools want students to have a good understanding of the Constitution and the American legal system. Regent’s two mission statements include seeking students “who are serious about the critical roles they will assume as future counselors, conciliators, defenders of the faith, effective client advocates and followers of Christ.” Also, “Regent Law seeks men and women who are dedicated to becoming Christian leaders who will change the world for Christ.”

Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court was flown in for Regent’s 20th anniversary to give a speech. One of our Supreme Court justices is honoring an institution that stands against everything our legal system was founded on.

I’m no law student, but I’m pretty sure our legal system functions by the Constitution, not the Bible. There is nothing wrong with a lawyer who is a Christian and feels very strongly about his or her religion, but lawyers first and foremost need training from legitimate professionals and academics about our actual legal system.

What if Muslims or Hindus started a law school in America? Institutions like Regent would probably condemn them and say that they were corrupting our law system. Heck, places like Regent don’t even want Presbyterians in our courts, seeing as how Robertson considers them the “spirit of the Antichrist.”

Regent has not taught its current graduates in the government well, based on the overwhelming amount of unethical activity occurring under the Bush administration’s watch. Many more will probably be shown the door, or plead the fifth like Goodling did.

I’ll bet that when these Regent graduates get put into the spotlight for their misdeeds, the lawyers they hire won’t be graduates from Regent; Goodling’s isn’t. So why should we let them run our country?

Reach columnist Hunter Kincaid at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.