| From a very young age, Alejandra Lopez knew that she would dedicate her life to the pursuit of justice. Though she did not follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor, she has carried on the family legacy of serving the community with humility and a passion for helping others. |
| A tragic story that hit close to home was the catalyst for Alejandra and would lead her toward a successful career as a respected minister of justice. |
| “I knew from the age of nine that I wanted to be a prosecutor,” she explains. “For a couple of years, my family lived in Missouri where my father was working. The sister of one of my classmates was kidnapped, raped, and killed. I remember reading it in the newspaper and saying, ‘That’s what I want to do when I grow up… put away people who do things like that.” |
| Alejandra was born in New York City where her dad did his residency, and was raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. She studied at Wesleyan Academy, known for providing its students with an exceptional bilingual education. During high school, her summer breaks were taken up by interning at a law firm. |
| She went on to earn her undergraduate degree with honors in Government from Harvard University. Alejandra then attended the Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans where she earned her Juris Doctor. |
| “My understanding of the role of a prosecutor was deepened in law school,” she explains. “The prosecutor not only represents the interest of victims and to ensure the safety of the community, but also that innocent people do not get prosecuted. I saw that we are the first line of defense, and this made me even more passionate about the role we play in the criminal justice system.” |
| During law school, she took advantage of internships during the summer breaks. The first year she interned with U.S. District Court Judge Salvador Casellas in Puerto Rico. In her second year, she interned for part of the summer at the Cook County District Attorney’s Office in Chicago. The other half of the summer she studied Criminal Law abroad in Amsterdam. |
| About a month into the fall semester of Alejandra’s third year of law school, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Classes were canceled and students were not allowed on campus as the facilities and the city had been heavily impacted by the storm. |
| Other law schools around the country took in the Tulane students for the fall Alejandra was able to attend the University of Florida Law School for the semester. But then there was the question of rescheduling the job interviews that have been facilitated by the Tulane campus recruiting office. |
| “I had applied to the Bronx, Manhattan, Miami, and Cook County because I had interned there. I applied to cities where I thought I could live and where I could work a lot and have a good range of cases.” |
| Alejandra vividly remembers coming to the SAO in Miami for one day for her interview with State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “The questions that stood out most were ‘Why do you want to be a prosecutor?’ And ‘Where do you want to be in 10 years?’ At the time the starting salary was $31,200 so it wasn’t for the money.” |
| “Alejandra Lopez’s intelligence, wit, and natural warmth are only three aspects of her personality that augment her great skills as a trial lawyer,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “These innate gifts, combined with her personal drive to ensure that her cases are as thoroughly investigated, prepared, and presented as possible make her a formidable presence in every courtroom she enters. These same gifts and skills also make her the type of litigator that fellow lawyers vie to work with. Together, that’s quite a compliment.” |
| In August 2006, Alejandra began her career as a prosecutor at the SAO. She was assigned to DUI County Court where she went on to serve as a County Training Attorney and then as Assistant Chief. She worked her way up through the Felony divisions eventually becoming a Division Chief. After three years, she was recruited for to handle homicide cases in the gang division where she served for her last three years until she left the office. |
| Alejandra’s work ethic, legal knowledge, common sense, and humanity forged her reputation as a solid prosecutor who was respected not only by her colleagues but by defense counsel and judges alike. She credits her ability to hone her skills to the environment that State Attorney Fernandez Rundle created at the office. “She always expected us to do the right thing and stood up for her people.” |
| “During the great recession of 2008-2009, the legislature cut budgets and every SAO in Florida furloughed employees in order to balance their bottom line. This not only would affect the income of prosecutors and staff but also our cases. I don’t know how Kathy and her leadership team did it, but we were the only SAO in Florida to never get furloughed. We appreciated it.” |
| During her 12 years at the SAO, Alejandra handled many complicated and tragic cases that have molded who she is as a prosecutor and are always present for her. |
| “In March of 2014, I tried a case where a young couple stopped at a gas station to fill up on the way to a birthday party. The Defendants pull up to them with the intention of carjacking their Mustang. Ellington, one of the Defendants, pulled the young man out of the driver’s seat and got him out of the car while his accomplice pulled the young woman out of the passenger seat. The Victims were complying. While the driver leaves the keys in the car and is walking away backwards with his hands up, Ellington shot him nine times in cold blood. Most of the shots occurred when the Victim was already on the ground. Upon hearing those shots, the co-defendant shot the female Victim once, but it hit every organ, so she died on the way to the hospital. When Ellington confessed, he stated that he shot the male Victim because he didn’t look scared enough when he was walking away from the car.” |
| “It was very meaningful and gratifying to get justice and closure for the families of the innocent victims.” |
| Another of Alejandra’s cases reminded her how a prosecutor’s decisions and actions can change victims’ lives. |
| “I had a case where a high school teacher was charged with Lewd & Lascivious Battery and the victim was one of his students (13-16 years old). The honor roll student was targeted by the teacher for a sexual relationship. Her parents saw concerning things on her phone and reported it to authorities. Once the news of the teacher’s arrest was made public, the high school Victim was bullied so heavily at school that she had to withdraw. Though she believed that she was in love with her teacher and that the feeling was mutual, she realized that he had only been using her. In reality, he already had a girlfriend. This caused a great deal of psychological and emotional pain, so the Victim went into therapy.” |
| Throughout the prosecution of the case, Alejandra was not only concerned with the facts and evidence in the case. She was also acutely aware of the needs of the Victim. “I had a strong case to take to trial, and the Defendant would have received a substantial sentence, but the Victim would have to take the stand which would have been devastating for her. Though the defense had contacted me regarding a plea deal, I was adamant about him receiving jail time and losing his teaching license. After a conversation with the Victim and her mother regarding our options, it was decided that in the best interest and well-being of the young Victim who was rebuilding her life, we would accept a plea deal. It consisted of five years prison followed by 10 years of probation, he had to register as a Sex Offender and lose his teaching license.” |
| “Four years later I received a package at the office. It had an out-of-state address. Inside was a college graduation program. It was from the Victim in this case. She wanted to let me know that she graduated with honors and had been accepted to grad school where she was going to pursue a degree in psychiatry in order to work with victims of sexual abuse. She thanked me for caring about how she felt during the criminal process. This allowed her to have closure and that helped her move on.” |
| Though she loved being a prosecutor at the state, there was a financial reality that made it impossible for Alejandra, as well as other passionate prosecutors, to stay. “I didn’t become a prosecutor to make money, but it became necessary to make a living wage.” Then an opportunity arose at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida that allowed her to continue the work she loved while at the same time being and be able to make ends meet. |
| In June 2018, Alejandra became an Assistant U.S. Attorney working in the Appeals Division. She then moved to Major Crimes and later to Special Prosecutions where they handle violent crimes, child porn, and human trafficking cases. After prosecuting four cases back-to-back at trial once courts reopened after the pandemic, Alejandra was asked to join the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section in February of 2023. There she handles investigations into public officials at the state and federal level, as well as federal civil rights cases. |
| Having already worked with the USAO Office on various operations in her time at the SAO gang unit, adjusting to prosecuting at the federal level was a new challenge for her. “Though I had 12 years of experience at the State, I had to start from square one with the Office and with the judges. Thankfully what I had learned and put in practice every day prepared me for being a prosecutor at the federal level. I knew how to try a case, but I had to learn their procedures.” |
| Alejandra emphasizes that what she learned at SAO, and the past and continued mentorship of former supervisors like Hillah Mendez and Abbe Rifkin, were instrumental in her growth as a litigator. “The breadth of experience that you get at the State you cannot get anywhere else. There are specialty units you can join to develop different skill sets. Most importantly, you develop your litigation skills as you are in trials all the time.” |
| “As an ASA you do it all. You are exposed to all types of large, complicated cases and get to interact with all sections of the community. You get to do the right thing all the time by balancing the rights of victims, defendants, and public safety. The right thing isn’t always the easy thing or the best thing. You might get a harsher verdict but if it is at the expense of the victim then is it right? I know that I can sleep easy at night knowing that I did what was right.” |
| Alejandra does not know what the future may hold for her career, but she loves being a litigator and serving our community. When she isn’t actively seeking justice, she is traveling and spending time with her family in Puerto Rico. |
