Christy E. Lopez
Distinguished Visitor from Practice
B.A., University of California, Riverside; J.D., Yale
Christy E. Lopez joined the faculty as a Distinguished Visitor from Practice in 2017. From 2010 to 2017, Professor Lopez served as a Deputy Chief in the Special...
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Christy E. Lopez joined the faculty as a Distinguished Visitor from Practice in 2017. From 2010 to 2017, Professor Lopez served as a Deputy Chief in the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Professor Lopez led the Division's group conducting pattern-or-practice investigations of police departments and other law enforcement agencies, including litigating and negotiating settlement agreements to resolve investigative findings. Professor Lopez also helped coordinate the Department's broader efforts to ensure constitutional policing.
Professor Lopez directly led the team that investigated the Ferguson Police
Department and was a primary drafter of the Ferguson Report and negotiator of
the Ferguson consent decree. She also led investigations of many other law
enforcement agencies, including the Chicago Police Department, the New Orleans
Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the Newark (New
Jersey) Police Department, and the Missoula, Montana investigation. The
Missoula matter was the Division's first pattern-or-practice investigation to
focus on the collective law enforcement response to allegations of sexual
assault, and the first to focus on a prosecutor's office. Professor Lopez
helped formulate and draft the DOJ statement of interest in the Floyd
litigation, challenging the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk
practices, as well as DOJ guidance released in 2015 on preventing gender bias
in the law enforcement response to sexual assault and domestic violence.
Professor Lopez' career has been largely focused on criminal justice reform,
and constitutional policing in particular. After clerking on the Alaska Supreme
Court for Justice Robert L. Eastaugh, Professor Lopez began her civil rights
career as an Honor's Attorney in the Civil Rights Division from 1995-2000,
investigating and litigating cases regarding jails, prisons, and police
departments. Professor Lopez later served as a federal court monitor of the
Oakland (California) Police Department for Senior District Judge Thelton E.
Henderson of the Northern District of California. Throughout her career,
Professor Lopez has been involved in police reform efforts at the state, local,
and federal levels: she has conducted independent reviews of police shootings;served on the Maryland Attorney General's Task Force on Electronic Weapons;was
a contributing writer on the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Commission
Report on sexual violence in prisons, jails, and lockups;and has served on
various other commissions and working groups related to police standards.
In 2016, Professor Lopez was awarded the Flame Award by the National
Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) for her
long-term commitment to police accountability and civilian oversight. In 2015,
Professor Lopez was awarded the Department of Justice's highest employee honor,
the Attorney General's Exceptional Service award, for her work leading the
Ferguson Police Department pattern-or-practice investigation. In 2013,
Professor Lopez was awarded the Attorney General's John Marshall Award for her
work leading the New Orleans Police Department investigation and consent decree
negotiation.
At Georgetown, Professor Lopez teaches courses on Criminal Justice and
Police/Criminal Justice Reform. She also co-leads Georgetown Law's
Program on Innovative Policing. She currently serves as an Advisor on the
American Law Institute (ALI) Principles of Law, Policing. She authored the 2010
American Constitution Society Issue Brief, "Disorderly
(mis)Conduct:The Problem with 'Contempt of Cop' Arrests." She has
previously taught law school courses on unlawful racial, national origin, and
religious profiling, and on negotiations. Professor Lopez is licensed to
practice law in Washington DC and California.
Recent Scholarship
View all scholarshipAll Scholarship 2017 - Present
Selected Contributions to Other Publications
- Christy E. Lopez & Jonathan Aronie, Keeping Each Other Safe: An Assessment of the Use of Peer Intervention Programs to Prevent Police Officer Mistakes and Misconduct, Using New Orleans’ EPIC Program as a Potential National Model, 20 Police Q. 295-321 (2017).
In the News
"As Trump assails Justice Dept., Sessions hangs in — and pushes the president's hard-right agenda," coverage by Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2018, quoting Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"California steps in to oversee police reform after Trump administration pulls out," coverage by the Sacrameno Bee, February 5, 2018, quoting Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"St Louis protesters say cops are more aggressive 3 years after Michael Brown’s death," coverage by Raw Story, September 22, 2017, quoting Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"The talk: Area parents, police face down racial discrimination amid high-profile shootings", coverage in WTOP, September 7, 2017, featuring Professor Chrisy Lopez.
"The talk: Area parents, police face down racial discrimination amid high-profile shootings," coverage by WTOP, September 7, 2017, quoting Distinguished Visitory from Practice Christy Lopez.
View all NewsAll News
"As Trump assails Justice Dept., Sessions hangs in — and pushes the president's hard-right agenda," coverage by Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2018, quoting Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"California steps in to oversee police reform after Trump administration pulls out," coverage by the Sacrameno Bee, February 5, 2018, quoting Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"St Louis protesters say cops are more aggressive 3 years after Michael Brown’s death," coverage by Raw Story, September 22, 2017, quoting Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"The talk: Area parents, police face down racial discrimination amid high-profile shootings", coverage in WTOP, September 7, 2017, featuring Professor Chrisy Lopez.
"The talk: Area parents, police face down racial discrimination amid high-profile shootings," coverage by WTOP, September 7, 2017, quoting Distinguished Visitory from Practice Christy Lopez.
"Illinois AG Sues City of Chicago," a Bloomberg Law Brief podcast, with Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez, August 31, 2017. This story also appears on WLS 890 AM (Chicago).
"AG Madigan sues to enforce Chicago police reform; Emanuel pledges cooperation", coverage in the Chicago Tribune, August 30, 2017, quoting Professor Christy Lopez.
"Illinois Sues Over Conduct Of the Police In Chicago," coverage in The New York Times, August 29, 2017, quoting Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez. Story also covered by CNN.
"Baltimore police caught planting drugs at scene, public defender's office says," coverage by the Virginian-Pilot, July 20, 2017, quoting Professor Christy Lopez.
"Baltimore police investigate officers after one seen putting bag of drugs at scene," coverage by The Washington Post, July 19, 2017, quoting Distinguished Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"De-Escalation Training Helps Set Higher Policing Standards in Camden County," coverage by NJ Pen, July 13, 2017, quoting Distinguished Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"Chicago charges show challenge of code of silence Chicago charges show challenge of police code of silence," coverage in The Washington Post, June 28, 2017, quoting Distinguished Visitor from Practice Christy Lopez.
"Chicago charges show challenge of police code of silence", coverage in News12/Long Island, June 28, 2017, featuring Professor Christy Lopez.
"Department Of Justice Lawyers Fear Trump Will Scrap All Their Work To Overhaul The Chicago Police," coverage in BuzzFeed News, May 25, 2017, featuring Christy E. Lopez, Distinguished Visitor from Practice.
“Chicago Was on The Verge Of Police Reform. Then Trump Picked Jeff Sessions To Run The DOJ”, coverage in The Huffington Post, April 29, 2017, featuring Visiting Professor Christy Lopez.
"The Reform Stops Here," coverage in Slate, April 4, 2017, featuring Christy E. Lopez, Distinguished Visitor from Practice.
"Civil rights groups alarmed at Justice Department's review of local police settlements," coverage in The Los Angeles Times, featuring Christy E. Lopez, Distinguished Visitor from Practice.
"Activists fear federal review of U.S. police agreements could imperil reforms," coverage in Reuters, April 4, 2017, featuring Christy E. Lopez, Distinguished Visitor from Practice.
“Here’s What Will- And Won’t- Happen Next Time A Cop Kills An American”, coverage in The Huffington Post, March 13, 2017, featuring Visiting Professor Christy Lopez.
"Why Jeff Sessions Should Police the Police," an opinion piece by Christy Lopez, Distinguished Visitor from Practice, in The Marshall Project, January 30, 2017.
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