David E. Gilbert

David E. Gilbert serves as Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law, concurrently holding a deputy position at the West Virginia Attorney General's Office (2023–2025). His career integrates judicial clerkships at the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and practical legal service across corporate, criminal, and governmental sectors.

Education:

• B.A. (pre-law), Bob Jones University – summa cum laude
• J.D., Columbia University School of Law – Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar

Research Focus: Professor Gilbert examines constitutional boundaries of state authority through dual lenses: doctrinal analysis of criminal/environmental law and philosophical inquiry into theodicy's implications for governance. His work uniquely bridges legal positivism and moral philosophy, particularly regarding governmental responses to existential questions of evil and power limitation.

Scholarly Contribution: His seminal 2011 article synthesizes theological concepts with constitutional theory, establishing foundational arguments about state power constraints when confronting metaphysical problems of evil – an interdisciplinary approach rare in contemporary legal scholarship.

Awards:

• Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (Columbia Law School)
• summa cum laude (Bob Jones University)

Professional Engagement: At Liberty, he co-coached the Negotiations Competition Team and advised the Federalist Society and Intellectual Property & Technology Law Society. His government service includes drafting multi-state amicus briefs for Trump v. Anderson and Klee v. IUOE, demonstrating applied constitutional expertise at the highest judicial levels.