| Von G. Keetch | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 17, 1960 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | J. Reuben Clark Law School Brigham Young University |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Von G. Keetch (born March 17, 1960) is a Utah based lawyer. He is a shareholder in the law firm of Kirton & McConkie and a member of the Constitutional, Religious and Appellate Practice section for that law firm. He has defended land use rights of religious groups against state regulations, and has argued against liability of religious groups for crimes committed by their members.
Keetch has served as a member of Utah's Appellate Court Nominating Commission, a position to which he was appointed by Governor Jon Huntsman.[1]
Keetch co-wrote with Matthew K. Richards "The Need for Legislation to enshrine religious liberty in the Land Use Context". This is one of the leading works cited by religious freedom advocacy groups such as the Becket Fund.[2]
Keetch along with Alexander Dushku, also of Kirton & McConkie, have filed many cases related to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.[3] In 2007 they presented an amicus curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court in behalf of a large coalition of religious organizations in defense of a broad interpretation of burdening of religious freedom.[4]
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Keetch holds a bachelors degree from Brigham Young University (BYU) and a law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU. Keetch has served as an adjunct professor at BYU. He was the managing editor of the BYU Law Review from 1986-1987.
Keetch served as a clerk to Warren Burger and Antonin Scalia.
Keetch has served as a lawyer for the LDS Church in cases involving suits over sexual molestation of one member towards another.[5] He has also been involved in several other lawsuits along these lines related to questions of clerical reporting and responsibility. In another case in Washington Keetch was the church's lawyer in a case where the church was sued because a bishop had failed to report accusations of sexual abuse by a girl in his ward, yet Washington law does not require clergy to report such allegations.[6] Keetch has also made statements for the church in regard to the Boy Scouts of America.[7] Keetch was also one of the lawyers involved in the LDS Church's attempts to overcome the overbearing zoning restrictions in West Lynn, Oregon.[8]
Keetch also served as the LDS Church's lawyer in litigation related to the Main Street Plaza case.[9] He was also involved in the Church's 2006 settlement with the ACLU over issues at Martin's Cove in Wyoming.[10]
Keetch is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is a lay leader of the Church, serving as president of the BYU 14th Stake from 2002-2009.[11] In 2009 Keetch was called as an Area Authority Seventy.[12]
In 2010 Keetch responded to Marci Hamilton's claims that the LDS response to child sexual abuse was on the same level of the Catholic Church. Keetch pointed out the help-line to aid bishops in dealing with abuse, and various other polices and actions the Church took on the matter.[13]