Announcing the 2024
Beacon of Justice Award Gala

Honoring

Laurie L. Levenson

& Capri Maddox

with the Beacon of Justice Award

 

Date 

Thursday, April 18, 2024

 

Location

Mildred L. Lillie Building of the Los Angeles County Law Library

301 West First Street, Los Angeles At First & Broadway Downtown

2024 Beacon of Justice Honorees

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Laurie L. Levenson

Professor Levenson is the David W. Burcham Chair in Ethical Advocacy at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California, where she teaches evidence, criminal law, criminal procedure, ethics, white collar crime, and trial advocacy. Professor Levenson attended Stanford University and UCLA School of Law, where she was the Chief Articles Editor of the UCLA Law Review. 

 

She clerked for the Honorable James Hunter, III, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Professor Levenson served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1981-1989. During her years as a federal prosecutor, she held the positions of Chief of Appeals, Chief of Training, and Assistant Division Chief; Professor Levenson prosecuted a variety of federal criminal offenses, ranging from prison murders to white collar crimes.

 

While at Loyola Law School, Professor Levenson has authored more than 250 articles and thirteen books. She has published on issues related to criminal law, ethics, media and the law, and high-profile cases. In addition to teaching at Loyola, she regularly teaches evidence at several other law schools, including UCLA School of Law, USC School of Law, Southwestern University, and Pepperdine University Law School.  

 

In 2011, Professor Levenson founded Loyola’s Project for the Innocent. The Project has secured the release and exonerations of eighteen clients who were wrongfully convicted and faced life imprisonment sentences or the death penalty.   

 

In addition to her law school teaching, Professor Levenson lectures regularly for the Federal Judicial Center. In that capacity, she teaches federal judges from throughout the United States about topics relating to evidence law, ethics, criminal justice, civil rights, and the causes of wrongful convictions. She has served on numerous Commissions addressing legal reforms and has authored several ethical rules that have been adopted nationally.

 

Finally, Professor Levenson is a frequent commentator on high-profile legal matters. She has provided television, radio, and newspaper coverage for CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, BBC, NPR, The New York Times, the Associated Press, and the Los Angeles Times, of cases such as the Rodney King beating case, the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the Michael Jackson sexual molestation trial, the Menendez murder trials, the impeachment trials of President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump, the Kobe Bryant rape case, the Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein rape trials, the prosecution of the Jan. 6th insurrectionists, as well as the criminal investigations and prosecutions of former President Donald J. Trump.

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Capri Maddox

Capri Maddox is the General Manager of the Los Angeles Civil, Human Rights and Equity Department (“LA Civil Rights”), which enforces civil rights law in private sector commerce, education, employment, and housing; and works to address hate, inequity, and structural racism through community partnerships.

Maddox was appointed as the department’s founding Executive Director and General Manager in 2020 by former Mayor Eric Garcetti and currently serves Mayor Karen Bass in this role. Under Maddox’s leadership, LA Civil Rights levels the playing field with the support of the Los Angeles City Council and LA Civil Rights’ five commissions and advisory boards: Commission on Civil Rights, Commission on the Status of Women, Human Relations Commission, Transgender Advisory Council, and the Reparations Advisory Commission.

Capri Maddox previously served in various roles in the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney, including as Special Assistant City Attorney, Neighborhood Prosecutor, Central Trial Deputy, Complex Litigation Deputy City Attorney, and part of the General Counsel Group. In addition, Maddox led Los Angeles Unified School District Partnerships as its Executive Director, and was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa as the President of the Board of Public Works.

Maddox holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Master of Public Administration from California State University, Los Angeles, and received her Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law.

In addition to her government service, Maddox is a member of several nonprofit boards, including CSULA’s Presidential Advisory Board, First AME Church’s Political Action Committee, and as a trustee of Southern California Public Radio.