TUSTIN — Jay Alan Sekulow, the attorney who won his fourth U.S. Supreme Court victory on free speech and religion Monday, owes much of his prominence to exposure on the nation's largest Christian broadcasting network, the Tustin-based empire of Paul Crouch Sr.

Through his Trinity Broadcast Network and contributions totaling $3 million to nonprofit organizations controlled by Sekulow, Crouch has played a major role in boosting Sekulow's career as the best-known attorney for the Religious Right.

"Paul provided the platform, without asking anything in return, for me to get my message out on free speech and religious liberty," said the 36-year-old Sekulow, who was born Jewish but converted to Christianity at the age of 18.

Shortly after winning a landmark Supreme Court case on behalf of Jews for Jesus in 1987, Sekulow first appeared with Crouch and his wife, Jan, on their "Praise the Lord" talk show. He went on to make 20 to 30 guest appearances and occasionally hosted the show, which is the most-watched program on a network that attracts 13 million viewers every week, Crouch said.

Within a year of his first appearance on Trinity, Sekulow said, donations to his tax-exempt legal organization, Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism (CASE), quadrupled, from $88,000 to $370,000. He attributes the increase in contributions solely to his appearances on the Trinity network.

"I was personally shocked at the reach of television, and I still am," Sekulow recalled. "I saw that this could be a very important part of what I do in the education process. . . . I really believe the Lord used TBN to open a complete array of ministries that I work with."

Sekulow acknowledges his debt to Trinity in his book, "From Intimidation to Victory." Along with the Jews for Jesus organization, Sekulow said, Paul Crouch and his wife, Jan, are "the most significant people that got behind what I'm doing."

Though Jan Crouch often refers to Sekulow as "our little Jew," Sekulow said he does not find the couple patronizing.

"You have to take it in the context that they meant it," he said. "They don't mean it as an offense. They're so excited that you're Jewish."

Over a five-year period, Trinity has funneled more than $3 million into a five-station, tax-exempt Christian television network, called Sonlight Broadcasting, run by Sekulow and his former law partner.

Why is it important for a constitutional lawyer to operate five television stations?