Born in Tennessee, Phelps received his law degree from Vanderbilt University.

When he took the bench he was one of two superior court judges in the county and when he retired the number had increased to seven.

An outspoken critic of judicial activism and a founding member and director of the John Birch Society, Phelps was characterized by the Washington Post as the "high priest of conservatism.

"[5] He served on the state supreme court for 12 years until December 31, 1960 when he was defeated in his re-election bid.

In 1961 Judge Phelps came out of retirement to help handle a large backload of criminal cases in superior court, devoting several months to the task.