Maria Chapa Lopez | |
---|---|
United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida | |
In office January 5, 2018 –February 27, 2021 Interim: January 5, 2018 – September 3, 2018 | |
President | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
Preceded by | A. Lee Bentley III |
Succeeded by | Karin Hoppmann (acting) |
Personal details | |
Education | University of Texas (BA) South Texas College of Law (JD) The JAG School (LLM) |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Maria Chapa Lopez is an American attorney who served as the United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 2018 to 2021.
Chapa Lopez's parents were born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States,settling in Chicago in the 1950s. [1] When Chapa Lopez was a child,her family moved to Odessa,Texas. [1] According to Chapa Lopez,she spent summers with her grandparents in Mexico while growing up. [1]
Chapa Lopez received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas,and her Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law,thereafter joining the United States Army and earning her Master of Laws from the JAG School at the University of Virginia. [2]
Chapa Lopez spent more than a decade as a judge advocate in the United States Army,leaving at the rank of lieutenant colonel. [1] [3]
From April 2000 to April 2016,she worked as an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida,prosecuting complex transnational and domestic drug trafficking organizations,large-scale money laundering cases,and complex opioid cases. From April 2016 to January 2018,she was the U.S. Department of Justice deputy attachéin the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. [3]
On January 3,2018,United States attorney general Jeff Sessions announced the appointment of Chapa Lopez to serve as interim U.S. attorney after the resignation of A. Lee Bentley III. [4]
On May 10,2018,President Trump announced his intent to nominate Chapa Lopez to be the United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida. On May 15,2018,her nomination was sent to the Senate. [5] On July 12,2018,her nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote. [6] On August 28,2018,her nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by voice vote. [7] She was sworn into office on September 4,2018. [8]
Chapa Lopez resigned on February 27,2021,following the presidential transition of Joe Biden. [9] [10]
Chapa Lopez is married to a deputy sheriff with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office,whom she met while they were both in the U.S. Army. [1]
According to Chapa Lopez,she is a fan of the conceptual artist Jesus Ortiz. [1]
Chapa Lopez speaks English and Spanish. [11]
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit.
The United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida is responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida has offices in Fort Myers,Jacksonville,Ocala,Orlando,and Tampa.
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations,Congress confirmed 329 judgeships,173 during the 111th &112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.
William Frederic Jung is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Michael Bryan Stuart is an American politician who serves in the West Virginia Senate and was previously the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 2018 to 2021.
Christina Elizabeth Nolan is an American attorney and politician who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont from 2017 to 2021. Prior to becoming the U.S. Attorney,she was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Vermont,where she prosecuted a variety of criminal cases. A member of the Republican Party,she was a candidate for the United States Senate in the 2022 election,losing the Republican primary. Nolan is considered a moderate Republican,and in her Senate campaign was endorsed by Governor Phil Scott.
Donald Trump,President of the United States from 2017 to 2021,entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies,including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency,he nominated approximately 50 judges,a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. By June 24,2020,200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. According to multiple media outlets,Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure.
Ryan Kelley Goeb Patrick is an American attorney and former Texas district court judge who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas from 2018 to 2021. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2017 and assumed office early the following year.
Brandon Joseph Fremin is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana from 2018 to 2021.
Wendy Leigh Williams Berger is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. She previously served as a Florida state District Judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
Erica Hinkle MacDonald is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 2018 to 2021. She served as a judge of the District Court for the First Judicial District of the State of Minnesota from 2010 to 2018;as an Assistant United States Attorney from 2000 to 2009;a litigation associate in 2000;and a federal judicial law clerk from 1997 to 1999.
Thomas Patrick Barber is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Martha Maria Pacold is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan is an American Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. She previously served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida from 2018 to 2021. Prior to this,she had been a Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida from 2012 to 2018.
Lawrence A. "Larry" Keefe is an American attorney serving as Florida's Public Safety Czar. He is a former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida from 2019 to 2021.
Timothy J. Downing is an American attorney and former politician who served as the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma from 2019 to 2021. He represented the 42nd district in the Oklahoma House of Representatives as a Republican from 2016 to 2018. He currently serves as a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals.
William Stephen Muldrow is an American lawyer who serves as the United States attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He was previously an assistant United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
Fred Joseph Federici III is an American attorney who formerly served as the acting United States attorney for the District of New Mexico. He was previously a nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Kathryn Kimball Mizelle is an American lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. At age 33,she was the youngest person chosen by President Donald Trump for a lifetime judicial appointment.