Lawyer. Writer. Speaker.

Influencing law and public policy to promote human dignity and flourishing.

Josh Craddock is an affiliated scholar with the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding.

He graduated magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He later clerked for the Honorable Chief Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Prior to law school, Josh managed advocacy teams for non-profit organizations at the United Nations and participated in negotiations for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Josh’s writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Newsweek, National Review, First Things, Public Discourse, The Stream, and Providence Magazine. His academic writing has been published in various law reviews and research journals. He has spoken on hundreds of public platforms, including for many civic and charitable organizations.

  • Josh is one of Harvard Law School’s finest, a gifted writer who bids fair to become a leading public intellectual.

    — Mary Ann Glendon
    Learned Hand Professor of Law Emerita, Harvard University

  • Josh Craddock represents the best of America's future as one who understands the role of religious principles at the point where law and public policy intersect.

    — Dr. Anthony B. Bradley
    Distinguished Research Fellow, The Acton Institute

  • Josh Craddock is fearlessly demonstrating the leadership and developing the thought America desperately needs to recover a purposeful politics ordered to the common good.

    — Matt Peterson
    Editor-in-Chief, Blaze Media

  • Josh Craddock is one of the most important legal scholars of his generation. His morally substantive originalism gives me hope for the most vulnerable among us.

    — C.C. Pecknold
    Professor of Systematic Theology, Catholic University of America

Josh is a fifth-generation native Coloradan who lives and works in the
Denver area.

Josh is a frequent speaker for the Federalist Society, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and other civic organizations. Contact Josh for speaking engagements and more.

Recent Commentary

Commentary
Give Me That Old Time Originalism
Give Me That Old Time Originalism

Originalism in Theology and Law is a welcome salvo in an ecumenical and interdisciplinary conversation that has been too long dominated by originalism’s critics.

ISI Conversations: Religion, Law, and the Common Good
ISI Conversations: Religion, Law, and the Common Good

On the ISI podcast, Josh Craddock joins Tom Sarrouf to explore the complex interplay between religion and law, how civic friendship shapes our public life, and the role of the law as a mediator in a pluralistic society.

All Human Life Deserves Respect: IVF Doesn’t Change That
All Human Life Deserves Respect: IVF Doesn’t Change That

We must support the creation and well-being of families while respecting the basic human rights of every member of the family, regardless of their age.

Florida Supreme Court signals readiness to rule for pre-born personhood
Florida Supreme Court signals readiness to rule for pre-born personhood

In the near future, all human beings—including pre-born children—may be protected by the Florida Constitution.

Our Pro-Life Constitution
Our Pro-Life Constitution

The originalist case for unborn personhood, published in the February 2024 print edition of National Review

Debate: Equal Protection & Section 5
Debate: Equal Protection & Section 5

Catholic Law's Federalist Society presents Resolved: A Debate Between Josh Craddock and William Hodes.

Do Abortion Bans Violate The Separation Of Church & State?
Do Abortion Bans Violate The Separation Of Church & State?

Josh Craddock debunks the common pro-abortion argument that laws that ban abortion are a violation of the separation of church and state.

FedSoc Blog: Yes, Congress Has Constitutional Authority to Protect Unborn Children
FedSoc Blog: Yes, Congress Has Constitutional Authority to Protect Unborn Children

Prof. Robert George and Josh Craddock write that national pro-life legislation would be an appropriate remedy for state deprivation of the equal-protection rights to which unborn children are constitutionally entitled.

Abortion is Unconstitutional
Abortion is Unconstitutional

The pro-life movement must direct its steps according to the existing guarantee in our Constitution that secures equal protection for all.

Live Action: Equal Protection & New Strategies for Protecting Life
Live Action: Equal Protection & New Strategies for Protecting Life

All human beings have inherent human rights. Yet the U.S. government refuses to protect the basic right to life of an entire segment of our population - preborn children. Josh Craddock sits down with Lila Rose to discuss how pro-life advocates can influence law and public policy to promote human dignity and flourishing.