Karen Pita Loor
Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Boston University
Schools
- Boston University
Links
Biography
Boston University
Karen Pita Loor comes to the Boston University School of Law Criminal Justice Clinic to continue the commitment she made as a young attorney to the zealous defense of individuals charged with crimes. Shortly after her graduation from law school, Professor Loor began her criminal defense career at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. In that agency’s trial division, she represented indigent juveniles and adults charged with offenses ranging from simple assault to murder and sexual assault. In the agency’s appellate division, she drafted multiple briefs and argued successfully before the highest appellate court in the District of Columbia. As a result of being a native Spanish-speaker, Professor Loor has represented several immigrant clients, and she is thus particularly familiar and concerned with the challenges this vulnerable population faces in the criminal justice system.
Before joining the Boston University clinical faculty, Professor Loor taught and supervised the Immigrant Children’s Justice Clinic at Florida International University School of Law. Under her supervision, students represented unaccompanied immigrant children in state and federal proceedings. Most recently, Professor Loor led her students as they successfully vacated three criminal convictions which subjected that client to certain deportation. The client is now a legal permanent resident who is able to attend school and obtain the mental health treatment he has long needed. Being able to assist this client is his dependency, immigration and criminal proceedings was quite a rewarding experience for Professor Loor, and it exemplified the ideals of holistic representation she strongly espouses.
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Cases
Report: Massachusetts Ranks Fourth in Benefiting from Immigrants
January 31, 2018
Boston Magazine Karen Pita Loor Immigrants are making Massachusetts great, according to a new study of the contributions of foreign-born residents to American states… Expert quote: “Low-wage immigrants’ desire to work hard means that native-born can afford goods and services at a lower cost. A surge in immigration to a particular state does not end […]
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Immigrants make their mark on Mass. economy
January 30, 2018
Salem News Karen Pita Loor Buoyed by contributions from international students, Massachusetts ranks fourth in the country in a new survey of states reaping the most economic benefit from immigration… Expert quote: “His approach has largely focused on building a wall and speeding up the deportation proceedings for undocumented immigrants who are caught. However, as we […]
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Trump Just Told Crowd of Cops That He’s A-Okay with Police Roughing Up Suspects
July 28, 2017
Law Newz quoting Karen Pita Loor, School of Law “On Friday, President Donald Trump told cops that he’s A-okay with them roughing up suspects…” Expert quote: “I’m not sure that’s what his supporters meant by a law-and-order president.” View full article.
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Mass. high court curbs police authority to detain illegal immigrants
July 24, 2017
Patriot Ledger quoting Karen Pita Loor, School of Law “The state’s highest court has ruled that Massachusetts court officers – and potentially all state and local law enforcement officials – do not have the authority to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally, even if asked to do so by federal officials…” Expert […]
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NightSide – A Legal Debate Over Sanctuary Cities
March 31, 2017
CBS Boston Karen Pita Loor, School of Law Sanctuary cities have been the focus of much of the national conversation since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently warned that cities refusing to follow federal immigration law are at risk of losing federal funding… View video of expert Pita Loor
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Massachusetts Should Become A ‘Sanctuary State’
March 7, 2017
WBUR Cognoscenti Karen Pita Loor, School of Law Amid the turmoil of Donald Trump’s early presidency, there is no doubt that noncitizens are in the administration’s crosshairs… View full article
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How a recent Supreme Court ruling impacts City Hall’s extortion cases
July 1, 2016
Boston.com Karen Pita Loor, School of Law A recent Supreme Court decision that “dramatically narrow[s]” the scope of federal anti-corruption cases could benefit the Boston officials facing extortion charges, according to legal experts… Expert quote: “The court is now being careful and wants to narrow what could otherwise be seen as an overly broad [statute].” View full article
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The Conversation US – Karen Pita Loor
May 18, 2015
Could the Boston Marathon bomber receive a fair trial in Boston? Karen Pita Loor, Boston University Last week, defense attorney Judy Clarke stood before the jury in the case of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and urged that mercy be bestowed. The question of Tsarnaev’s guilt had already been settled: The 21-year-old was convicted on […]
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Boston University professor talks about bombing trial
April 22, 2015
Rivet Radio Karen Pita Loor, School of Law Listen to audio of expert Karen Pita Loor
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Tsarnaev and the death penalty
April 15, 2015
BYU Radio Karen Pita Loor, School of Law Listen to audio of expert Karen Pita Loor
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