Andrew Coan
Andrew Coan is Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional Law at The University of Arizona, where he teaches Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, and related subjects. He served as Associate Dean for Research from 2020 to 2024. His scholarly interests include the Supreme Court, federalism, executive power, and constitutional interpretation. In 2024, Coan was named Arizona Law's Distinguished Legal Scholar, an award that recognizes one outstanding faculty member per year for highly valued contributions to research and the intellectual life of the College. He has also received the College's Leslie F. and Patricia Bell Faculty Service Award.
Coan is the author of two books, Rationing the Constitution (Harvard University Press 2019) and Prosecuting the President (Oxford University Press 2018). The former explains how judicial capacity shapes Supreme Court decision-making. The latter explains how special prosecutors hold Presidents accountable and protect the rule of law and was a finalist for the ABA's Silver Gavel Award. A third book, coauthored with David S. Schwartz, is forthcoming with Oxford University press in early 2027. Coan's work has also appeared in Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and University of Pennsylvania Law Review, among others. He frequently appears in the national media and has contributed articles to The Atlantic, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, CNN.com, San Francisco Chronicle, and USA Today.
Professor Coan received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He then clerked for Judge Richard Posner and returned to Stanford Law School as the inaugural James C. Gaither Fellow. He joined the Wisconsin law faculty in 2008 and the James E. Rogers College of Law in 2014. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Michigan Law School.
Representative Publications
- The Appellate Void, Cornell L. Rev. (forthcoming 2026)
- Relative Stare Decisis, 2025 Utah L. Rev. 1057
- What is the Matter with Dobbs?, 26 U. Pa. J. Const. L. 282 (2024)
- Too Much, Too Quickly?, 58 U.C. Davis L. Rev 407 (2024)
- The Original Meaning of Enumerated Powers, (with David S. Schwartz), 109 Iowa L. Rev. 97 (2024)
- Interpreting Ratification, (with Davis S. Schwartz), 1 J. Am. Con. Hist. 449 (2023)
- Prosecuting The President: How Special Prosecutors Hold Presidents Accountable and Protect the Rule of Law, (Oxford University Press 2019)
- Rationing The Constitution: How Judicial Capacity Shapes Supreme Count Decision Making, (Harvard University Press 2019)What is the Matter with Dobbs?, 26 U. PA. J. Const. L. 282 (2024)
- Complete List of Publications