Richard F. Collier, Jr., whose staunch defense of human life has spanned a legal career of nearly four decades, was honored with the Diocese of Trenton’s “Lumen Gentium” award Nov. 8 in  his home in Belle Mead. The award, which translates from the Latin for “light of the nations,” takes its name from the dogmatic constitution on the Church from the Second Vatican Council which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Msgr. Thomas J. Mullelly, diocesan vicar for clergy and consecrated life, and Father Michael McClane, parochial vicar of St. Paul Parish, Princeton, presented Collier with the glass statuette in the shape of a flame and inscribed “in recognition of his unwavering work in promoting and protecting the sanctity of human life.” The award, created for last year’s Eucharistic Congress, bears a phrase from the Church document declaring “Christ is the Light of All Nations... At all times and in every race, God has given welcome.”

In a letter to Collier presented to him along with the award, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., wrote, “Mr. Collier, your tireless efforts in support of human life at all its stages have demonstrated your profound and exceptional commitment to this priceless gift from God.  You are a "light to the nations" and your Church, your Diocese, your parish and I am proud and grateful to honor you. Thank you for all your love for life.  May the Lord of Life embrace you with His love!”

Collier is a graduate of Bergen Catholic High School, Harvard College and Boston University School of Law. After serving for two years as a law clerk for a federal judge in Trenton, he entered private practice and has spent the past 36 years specializing in litigating sophisticated corporate and commercial disputes. He has been recognized by his peers as one of the more prominent members of the legal profession in the state, having served as president of the Somerset County Bar Association; chairman of the Ethics Committee for Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren Counties and chairman of the Federal Practice Committee of the state Bar Association.

Since 1989, Collier has served as president of the Legal Center for the Defense of Life, a Morristown-based non-profit organization dedicated to providing pro bono legal services in support of the pro-life cause in New Jersey. Since the founding of the Legal Center, Collier and other volunteer attorneys have stood up to the culture of death in New Jersey and elsewhere, and have provided tens of thousands of hours of free legal representation to peaceful pro-lifers.

The Legal Center’s pro bono services have included such matters as protecting the free-speech rights of pro-life demonstrators and sidewalk counselors, advising and representing pregnant mothers being coerced into abortion, defending the rights of the elderly and infirm, and assisting crisis pregnancy centers and shelter homes. Collier and the Legal Center have compiled an impressive list of published decisions in cutting-edge cases in both federal and state courts, including two opinions by Supreme Court Justice Antonin G. Scalia which agreed with Collier’s arguments.

In February 1997, a state Superior Court judge appointed Collier to represent the unborn baby of a woman who was in jail and wanted to abort her baby. When the judge ruled against him, he drove through a blinding snowstorm to appear the decision at 3:30 a.m. Although the appeal was not successful, the woman changed her mind about having the abortion when she heard Collier’s arguments, and the baby girl was born on Father’s Day in 1997. The vent was reported as headline news throughout the country.

Collier has been the author of numerous articles in pro-life periodicals, including an article entitled “Reversing Roe” published in the American Life League’s “Celebrate Life” magazine. Since 2002, he has been one of the featured speakers at several of the annual Rallies for Life held on the steps of the N.J. Statehouse on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and has given numerous talks and lectures on pro-life legal issues at parishes and to various groups.

Collier is the recipient of numerous awards for his efforts to promote and protect the right to life, including the Guardian of Life Award from New Jersey Right to Life; the Pro Vita Award from the Diocese of Metuchen; and The Cardinal John J. O’Connor Pro-Life Award from the Northeast Region of Legatus International. Collier was most recently honored with the St. Thomas More Award by the Diocese of Metuchen at a ceremony following their annual Red Mass Oct. 27 in Piscataway.

Collier currently serves as a member of the Lawyers Advisory Committee for the federal courts in New Jersey and as a member of the N.J. State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  

A resident of Belle Mead, Collier and his wife Janet are parishioners of St. Paul Parish, Princeton. They have a daughter, Megan, two sons, Sean and Matthew, and four grandchildren.