Charles Capps

Charles Capps joined the faculty at the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law as an associate professor in 2024. He teaches courses on criminal law, jurisprudence, and the religion clauses. His research focuses on the intersection of law and philosophy, especially the role of moral responsibility in the criminal law, the debate between positivism and natural-law theory in general jurisprudence, and theories of legal interpretation. His scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in flagship law reviews such as the Notre Dame Law Review and the Arizona State Law Journal as well as leading peer-reviewed journals such as Ratio Juris.

Prior to joining the law school, Professor Capps was an associate scholar at the University of Chicago Law School. Previously he practiced law as Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Missouri and as an independent appellate litigation consultant, representing clients in venues ranging from state trial court to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Professor Capps holds a J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Articles Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago. After graduating from law school, he clerked for Judge Raymond W. Gruender on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.