Andrew Manuel Crespo (born 1983) is an American legal scholar.

Early life and education

Crespo is of Puerto Rican descent and was raised in

Monroe, New York Monroe is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 21,387 at the 2020 census, compared to 39,912 at the 2010 census; the significant fall in census population was due to the secession of the town of Palm Tree in 2019 ...

. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 2005, and earned his degree in law at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 2008. During his time as a law student, Crespo served as the first

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

president of the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

''.

Career

Crespo became a

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

specializing in

juvenile law Juvenile law pertains to those who are deemed to be below the age of majority, which varies by country and culture. Usually, minors are treated differently under the law. However, even minors may be prosecuted as adults. Juvenile law by country ...

before joining the faculty at

Harvard Law Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 2014. At Harvard Law, Crespo was named Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law. In 2021, Crespo cofounded the Institute to End

Mass Incarceration Incarceration in the United States is a primary form of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceratio ...

at Harvard Law. In 2021,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Joseph Biden appointed Crespo to serve on the

Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (PCSCOTUS), also known informally as the Supreme Court commission, was a Presidential Commission established by U.S. President Joe Biden to investigate the idea of reformin ...

. In 2022, Crespo was elected a member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

. Crespo is a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the

American Constitution Society The American Constitution Society (ACS) is a progressive legal organization. ACS was created as a counterweight to, and is modeled after, the Federalist Society, and is often described as its progressive counterpart. Founded in 2001 following t ...

Notable cases

In 2020, Crespo was a counsel of record for the respondent in Kansas v. Glover. The case was argued at the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Personal life

Crespo is married to Abby Shafroth, a fellow graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law. Shafroth is a

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

attorney and consumer justice advocate in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Crespo performed with an a Cappella singing group (The Veritones) while attending Harvard Law School.

Selected publications

*''Systemic Facts: Toward Institutional Awareness in Criminal Courts, 129 Harv. L. Rev. 2117'' (2016) *''The Hidden Law of Plea Bargaining, 118 Colum. L. Rev. 1303'' (2018) *''Unpacking DHS’s Troubling Explanation of the Portland Van Video, Lawfare'' (July 25, 2020) *''Andrew Manuel Crespo, Charles R. Breyer, Jennifer Nou et al., In Tribute: Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 136 Harv. L. Rev. 8'' (2022) *''No Justice, No Pleas: Subverting Mass Incarceration Through Defendant Collective Action, Fordham L. Rev.'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crespo, Andrew Manuel 1983 births Living people Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Law School faculty American people of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American lawyers New York (state) lawyers American legal scholars 21st-century American lawyers People from Monroe, New York Members of the American Law Institute Public defenders