Maria Lopez (born September 12, 1953) is a
Cuban-American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cubans, Cuban desc ...
former judge and a former television jurist on the syndicated
court show
A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of lega ...
, ''
Judge Maria Lopez
''Judge Maria Lopez'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, presided over by Maria Lopez. On the show, guests themselves presented and argued small claims civil actions before the judge. The half-hour series, produced and dist ...
''.
Judge Lopez made legal history as the first
Latina
Latina or Latinas most often refers to:
* Latinas, a demographic group in the United States
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America.
*Latin Americans
Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
appointed to the bench in
when she was selected as a District Court Judge by Governor
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
. Judge Lopez continued to make her mark in history as the first Latina to be appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court in 1993. Lopez served as a
Superior Court judge and as an
assistant attorney general
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general.
The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...
in
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 ...
division of the office of the
Massachusetts Attorney General
The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected Constitution of Massachusetts, constitutionally defined executive officer of the Government of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement offic ...
.
She was married to the late Stephen Mindich, owner of the ''
Boston Phoenix
''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' and ...
'' newspaper; she lives in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
. She has two sons, Michael Michaud (born in 1983) and David Michaud (born in 1985), who both attended the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
; they are her sons from her first marriage to Richard Michaud.
Lopez holds a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in Government from
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
and a
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
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
.
Demoulas Versus Demoulas Case
In the 1990s, then Judge Lopez presided over the civil trial for control of shares in the
DeMoulas supermarket chain. The trial and subsequent appeals process made this one of the largest and longest civil lawsuits in Massachusetts history. In addition to its length and cost, the trial was notable for attempts by lawyers of Telemachus "Mike" Demoulas to have Judge Lopez removed from the case due to allegations of bias after the jury found that he had defrauded his late brother George's family of shares in the family owned business. After numerous appeals however, Judge Lopez's rulings were upheld.
Allegations of misconduct were raised by Lopez's former law clerk, Paul M. Walsh against attorneys for Telemachus Demoulas. He alleged that he was lured to
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
under the pretext of a job interview, only to be queried for information the lawyers could then use to prove bias on the part of Judge Lopez.
In October 2006, the state Board of Bar Overseers issued a recommendation to
disbar
Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal con ...
lawyers Gary C. Crossen and Kevin P. Curry, and issue a three-year suspension to lawyer Richard K. Donahue based on their conduct in the Walsh incident. In December 2006, Donahue accepted the three-year suspension from practicing law. In January 2008, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court unanimously agreed with the recommendation of the board and ordered Crossen and Curry disbarred. Both lawyers will have to wait eight years before they can apply for readmission to the bar.
Charles "Ebony" Horton Case
Charles "Ebony" Horton was tried for and pleaded guilty to kidnapping, assault with intent to rape a child under 16, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, assault and battery, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. Horton, while dressed as a woman, used a ruse to lead an 11-year-old boy to an abandoned warehouse where he forced the boy to simulate sex acts after holding a screwdriver to the child's neck.
During the sentencing phase of the trial,
Suffolk County District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
David Deakin who had asked Lopez to give Horton an eight-to-ten-year jail sentence, tried to protest her decision to
sentence Horton to
house arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
and five years of
probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
. Judge Lopez, who was angered by the presence of members of the media, proceeded to upbraid the prosecutor as she suspected he had alerted the press. During her outburst, she angered members of the victim's family by referring to the case as a "low-level" offense. Judge Lopez's decision also angered residents of the
Mary Ellen McCormack housing development in
South Boston
South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...
where Horton would serve his house arrest. Horton was later evicted from the housing development based on the conviction.
The sentencing caused politicians in the state including then
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Paul Cellucci
Argeo Paul Cellucci (; April 24, 1948 – June 8, 2013) was an American politician and diplomat from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Republican, he served as the 69th governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2001, and as the United State ...
to suggest that
mandatory minimum sentencing
Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term for certain crimes, commonly serious and violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are inst ...
should be enacted by statute to remove judicial discretion in cases such as Horton's.
Three years later the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct found that Lopez had abused her office and lied under
oath
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...
and that she ought to apologize and serve a six-month suspension.
Retired Judge E. George Daher who headed the commission's investigation, suggested Judge Lopez should not be punished for her in-court behavior, but for her "feeble attempt at coverup". This was the same Judge Daher who had presided over the eviction hearings for Horton when he served as Boston Housing Court Chief in 2000. Rather than apologizing and accepting a suspension, Judge Lopez resigned on May 19, 2003.
''I sincerely apologize for my loss of temper in court. Accepting the recommendation of the hearing officer that I be suspended for six months and publicly endorse his findings would no doubt be the easiest and most expeditious way to maintain my judicial position. However, I cannot dishonor my 14 years on the bench, my principles, or the Massachusetts Judiciary by admitting to that which I did not do'', Lopez wrote.
''Fighting would require that we continue on a road that would subject her family and herself to this constant kind of morass that has been going on. She has simply decided that it is not worth it. Her effectiveness on the bench would be compromised after these proceedings. She has become a lightning rod for both the media and public opinion. It was her decision to step down'', Lopez's own attorney, Richard Egbert, stated.
On April 14, 2020, 42-year-old Level 3 sex offender, Charles "Ebony" Horton was again arrested, for kidnapping and assault charges after the suspect allegedly threatened young boys at gunpoint. A 12-year old victim stated the suspect had friended him on Facebook and began messaging him. The victim stated that the suspect knew where he lived and would send someone to hurt him.
Eventually, the suspect demanded that the boy meet him at a restaurant in the area of Seaver Street and Humboldt Avenue. The boy complied out of fear, police said. When the boy got to the location, the suspect guided him to the rear of a building near 100 Seaver St. and then entered a building, police said. “The victim stated the suspect removed a firearm from a green shopping bag before forcing the victim to access his Facebook account. When a police cruiser passed by the area, the suspect ran off.
As detectives started to investigate, they discovered other similar cases. On Jan. 2, a juvenile boy told officers that a suspect kidnapped him and threatened him with a firearm near 500 Columbia Road. And on Oct. 28, another juvenile boy told police that a suspect kidnapped him and threatened him with a firearm near 150 Columbia Road, according to the news release.
Television show
On September 11, 2006, ''Judge Maria Lopez'' debuted, a half-hour show where real life disputants come to settle a case. An episode may include two smaller cases or one big case, such as "The Dirty Videographer Was A Lemon".
After one year on the air, the ''Judge Maria Lopez'' ranked last among nine syndicated judge shows, only gathering a
Nielsen household rating of 1.0. Among all 160
syndicated shows ranked, the ''Judge Maria Lopez'' show placed 118th in viewership. Despite its low ratings, Sony Pictures renewed the series for a second season. However, in February 2008 reports indicated that after two seasons of low ratings the show would be canceled.
See also
*
List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists
This is a list of Hispanic/Latino Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, or administrative law judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts.
Other topics of interest
* List ...
*
List of first women lawyers and judges in Massachusetts
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Massachusetts. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in t ...
References
External links
Transcript of Commission on Judicial Conduct on Judge Maria LopezJudge Maria Lopez show at IMDB*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Maria
1953 births
Living people
Cuban emigrants to the United States
People from Newton, Massachusetts
Smith College alumni
Boston University School of Law alumni
Television judges
American women judges
21st-century American women
Hispanic and Latino American judges
American judges of Cuban descent