Maria Chapa Lopez is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the

Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

from 2018 to 2021.

Education

Chapa Lopez received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas, her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from South Texas College of Law, and her Master of Laws from The JAG School at the University of Virginia.

Legal career

From April 2000 to April 2016, Chapa Lopez worked as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

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 DOJ Deputy Attaché in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, she served in the

United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at a ...

, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

U.S. Attorney

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 Arthur Lee Bentley III (born January 26, 1959) is an American attorney who was the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 2014 until 2017. In January 2018, he joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, a law firm which has ...

. On May 10, 2018, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Chapa Lopez to be the United States Attorney for the

. On May 15, 2018, her nomination was sent to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. On July 12, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote. On August 28, 2018, her nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by voice vote. She was sworn into office on September 4, 2018. On February 8, 2021, she along with 55 other Trump-era attorneys were asked to resign. She resigned on February 27, 2021.

References

External links

Biography at the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapa Lopez, Maria Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Assistant United States Attorneys Florida lawyers South Texas College of Law alumni United States Attorneys for the Middle District of Florida University of Texas alumni Year of birth missing (living people) The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers