For the past 20 years, Fred Kelly Grant has fought for the rights of farmers, ranchers, loggers, miners, and those who use the great outdoors for recreation. Pursuing those efforts he discovered that the law requires federal and state governments to “coordinate” with local governments—and requires that they make every practicable effort to make their policies and actions consistent with local policies. He has worked with the coordination process to produce victories in twelve states for counties, cities, towns, hamlets, soil conservation districts, fire districts, irrigation districts, and school districts in defending against arbitrary regulatory agencies.
Assisting Nick Dranias of the Goldwater Institute, Fred helped persuade the American Legislative Exchange Council to adopt as a model statute the “coordination” requirement for local government implementation. Working with Dranias and Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen, he helped implement passage of the state’s coordination statute signed into law by the Governor.
A high point in coordination victories occurred in Texas, where Fred and the officers of American Stewards of Liberty guided four tiny towns (total population 6000) to victory over the powerful Texas Department of Transportation, and forcing the State to withdraw its plans for a quarter mile wide toll road that would have destroyed the agricultural economy and lifestyle of East Central Texas.
Personally rewarding victories were won in Wisconsin where Fred assisted Jay and Sandy Verhulst in their fight to protect towns and villages from overbearing “smart growth” planning efforts of the State.
Currently, Fred is assisting Maryland coordination teams fighting to protect the Watermen who continue the centuries-old tradition of harvesting crabs and oysters from the historic Chesapeake Bay, and California teams fighting scientifically baseless air quality requirements that threaten all independent truckers and all ton and ton and a half pick-up operators.
The current efforts are part of his post-retirement decision to take on the task of stopping the unconstitutional regulatory actions of the EPA and the Corps of Engineers. He has helped form The Stand and Fight Club in order to support and fund teams capable of upending these federal regulatory juggernauts. He decided to base the Club in Idaho, far from the atmosphere that encourages arbitrary regulatory agencies through apathy and abandonment of American traditions of liberty.
Fred loves the ocean—but lives in Boise Idaho with his wife Carol where his office wall holds a plaque reading “American by chance, Southern by the Grace of God”. As a self-professed “southern rebel” born in South Carolina, he grew up in Idaho, earned a BA degree in History at the College of Idaho and a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago School of Law. With JD in hand, he clerked for Chief Judge Frederick W. Brune of the Maryland Court of Appeals, served as an Assistant United States Attorney, and then an Assistant States Attorney for Baltimore City. In 1964 he was appointed Chief of the newly formed Organized Crime Division in the office lead by now Judge Charles E. Moylan. When Moylan was promoted to the appellate court, Grant went into the private practice of criminal law which he continued until returning to Idaho to serve as counsel to Governors Cecil D. Andrus and John Evans in the 1970s, heading the Idaho Human Rights Commission and the Court Planning Section of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission.
After serving the Governors, working with then Idaho District Judge (now Senior United States District Judge) Edward J. Lodge, he set up and supervised a clerk-research division for the Third Idaho Judicial District. After two years of service as Clerk to the Canyon County, Idaho Board of Commissioners, he oversaw the appellate work, particularly in capital cases, for the Canyon County Public Defender Van G. Bishop.
He has served as President of Stewards of the Range, President of American Stewards of Liberty, Director and Counsel to Trademark America, and is a Senior Fellow at the Goldwater Institute. His first book Justice My Ass, focused on his trial career in the field of criminal law and evidences his love of the courtroom and jury arguments. He is now simultaneously working on War on Rural America, Owyhee County v. the United States, Crossing Paths with Twenty Most Intriguing Persons, Great Sporting and Entertainment Events of My Life, and an autobiography “My Mom Would Have Expected Better of Me”. He is in discussions with two former investigators regarding books about true life criminal cases.
In his “spare time,” he spends entirely too much time watching television (Criminal Minds, NCIS, Major Crimes, Kitchen Nightmares, Seinfeld re-runs, Big Bang Theory, Frazier re-runs and sporting events of all kinds). He thrives on watching sports—his mother said of him “he would stop and watch ants play stickball on a sidewalk”.
With old age has come a shortening of his “bucket list” to a mere return for a visit to his native South Carolina with Carol and his sister Deanie to visit with their remaining relatives; view of Waikiki (he turned down a job with the Attorney General of Hawaii upon graduation from U. of Chicago, and has long wondered whether that was wise); watch LeBron James perform in play off games; see one more world series game (hopefully with the Giants playing the Orioles); see one more Ravens victory in Baltimore; tour the gardens in Victoria or Vancouver; relax on a cruise to Alaska, take three train trips—New York to Florida, Portland to San Diego, and across Canada; complete one of his books in the San Juans in a guest house offered to him for that purpose; complete one of his books in a cabin in the Montana Wilderness; attend a 7 am Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral and finish the final chapter of his final book sitting alone in the pews; and visit the Holy Land where Jesus walked and talked.
After that, life would be good if he could retire with his wife Carol at the ocean and live long enough to watch his grandchildren graduate from high school, college, and law school.