Jon Riches

Jon Riches is Vice President for Litigation at the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation and serves as the Institute’s General Counsel. He litigates in federal and state trial and appellate courts across the country, focusing on issues including economic liberty, regulatory reform, free speech, taxpayer protections, public-sector labor relations, government transparency, and school choice, among others.

Jon has authored and helped enact several landmark reforms, including the Right to Earn a Living Act, which offers some of the strongest protections in the nation for workers and entrepreneurs facing burdensome licensing laws. He also crafted Arizona’s first-in-the-nation law ending judicial deference to administrative agencies—an innovation now being looked to as a model nationwide.

His work has been featured in national outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CBS This Morning, Bloomberg News, and Politico, among others.

Before joining the Goldwater Institute, Jon served on active duty in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, representing hundreds of service members and litigating dozens of court-martial cases. While in law school, he clerked for Senator Jon Kyl on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, on the Arizona State Senate Rules Committee, and in the Office of Counsel to the President at the White House.

Jon holds a B.A. from Boston College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his J.D. from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law.

He currently serves as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and is an adjunct professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He was previously appointed by the President to serve as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel from 2017-2020.  He is also a member of the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project, where he serves on the State and Local Working Group.

In 2024, Jon was recognized by Phoenix Magazine as a Top Lawyer for nonprofits. A native of Phoenix, Jon is deeply committed to advancing liberty through principled, impactful legal advocacy.