Sutherland Institute

The Sutherland Institute is non-profit public policy foundation headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sutherland's mission statement defines the organization as "a conservative public policy think tank." The Institute is a non-partisan organization that specializes in policy research, education, and legislative advocacy. The Institute was founded in 1995 by Utah businessman and philanthropist, Gaylord K. Swim. Sutherland currently employs eight full-time individuals and four adjunct research fellows. Sutherland's current president is Paul T. Mero, who has served in this capacity since 2000.

Sutherland Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization, which is the IRS tax designation for a non-profit that is eligible for tax deductible donations. Sutherland accepts no government money and does not produce corporate sponsored research. The Institute is funded largely by Utah family foundations and local individual contributions.

Founder

Sutherland was founded in 1995 by Gaylord K. Swim in an effort to promote his idea of conservative public policy. Swim was a noted Utah businessman and philanthropist. He served on multiple boards, including, the State Policy Network, the Central Valley Medical Center, EFI Electronics , and was the chairman of the board for American Heritage School at the time of his death. Mr. Swim was also engaged in Utah politics, serving on several local and state commissions including an ad hoc committee which made recommendations against a proposed school district split in Utah County.

Mr. Swim died of a brain tumor in February 2005.

George Sutherland

Sutherland Institute is named after George Sutherland. When Sutherland was a boy, he and his parents immigrated to the US and settled in Utah. Sutherland is the only Utahn to have served on the US Supreme Court. Sutherland also served as a US Senator prior to being appointed to the bench in 1922.

Sutherland was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Liberals of his day disdained him and ridiculed him for opposing all of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs as unconstitutional. And yet modern day conservatives, jurists such as Bork, Scalia, and Rehnquist, also routinely chastise his many Court opinions for grounding his more “liberal” opinions in the very same logic he used in opposing FDRs New Deal policies.

Sutherland may best be remembered for his support and development of the legal doctrine of substantive due process.

Policy Focus

In 2008, The Sutherland Institute announced the creation of four policy centers: The Center for Family & Society, The Center for Educational Progress, The Center for Limited Government, and The Center for Community & Economy

Center for Family & Society

Sutherland's Center for Family & Society has focused on two controversial issues: the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman (what Sutherland terms the "Natural Family") and illegal immigration.

In late 2005, Sutherland issued a Natural Family resolution designed for local cities to adopt stating their support of Sutherland's definition of the natural family. Only one city, Kanab, UT, accepted and passed the resolution, but their passage of the Natural Family resolution set off a national controversy . Some, including Arthur Frommer, called for a boycott of the city as a tourist destination.

Paul Mero also partnered with Allan Carlson of the Howard Center, an Illinois based family advocacy group, to publish "The Natural Family: a manifesto." The book makes an argument for the "traditional" family structure. The book received both local and national exposure and was touted by conservative pundits.

In May 2008, Sutherland issued two reports on illegal immigration in Utah: Onus or Opportunity: Conservatism and Illegal Immigration in Utah Utah's Citizens and Illegal Immigrants: Side-by-Side . These reports drew both critism as well as praise from various groups in Utah.

Bill Duncan, president of the Marriage Law Foundation, is the center's current director.

Center for Educational Progress

Sutherland has advocated for greater educational freedom and less reliance on taxpayer funded schools.

Sutherland's efforts in education reform helped lead to Utah becoming the first state in the Union to pass a universal school voucher law. The law was quickly challenged and overturned by referendum vote in November 2007. During the run-up to the November referendum election Sutherland issued a controversial publication: Voucher, Vows, & Vexations. Sutherland called the publication an important review of the history of education in Utah while critics just called it revisionist history. Sutherland then released the subsequent companion article in a peer-reviewed law journal as part of an academic conference about school choice.

Center for Limited Government

In February 2007, Ed Feulner announced the creation of Sutherland's Center for Limited Government. Area of focuses for the center include, transparency in government, spending limitations, and federal land use in Utah.

Center for Community & Economy

The Institute's policy research on Utah's economy has focused issues such as health care and property tax reform. In 2004, the Institute first made the case for Utah adopting what Sutherland terms Charity Care, which calls for a more robust system of charity care, like that offered by groups like Unite for Sight as a method to provide care for the unisured. Allan Carlson is currently serving as the director of the Center.