The Court”s Role in Police Reform
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
STEPHENVILLE—U.S. District Judge Gustavo Gelpi will discuss the court’s role in police reform Thursday, Oct. 26, on Tarleton State University’s Stephenville campus.
Hosted by the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies, the free event begins at 12:15 p.m. in Room 116 of the O.A. Grant Humanities Building. The public is invited.
Former President George W. Bush appointed Gelpi to the federal court bench in 2006, following his unanimous Senate confirmation. He holds life tenure and sits in the District of Puerto Rico.
Gelpi resides over the nation’s largest police reform case, filed in 2012 by the U.S. Attorney General as the result of departmental practices violating civil rights, including the excessive use of force, racial and ethnic profiling, and sexual and political discrimination in the hiring and promotion of officers.
“Judge Gelpi is an outstanding jurist with an amazing career on the bench,” said Dr. Alex del Carmen, executive director of Tarleton’s criminology school. “He is an expert on issues related to police reform. We look forward to hosting him on campus.”
Del Carmen works with Gelpi on the police reform of Puerto Rico as a federal monitor.
During his judicial tenure, Gelpi has presided over hundreds of prosecutions for narcotics, firearms, child exploitation, immigration, white-collar government corruption and other federal crimes. He’s also presided over numerous civil cases related to environmental processes, medical malpractice, bank shareholder class actions, corporate litigation and personal injury.
Gelpi previously served as a U.S. magistrate judge and solicitor general of Puerto Rico. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and Suffolk University School of Law in Boston.
Tarleton, celebrating 100 years as founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience marked by academic innovation and exemplary service, and dedicated to transforming students into tomorrow’s professional leaders. As a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) with campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online, Tarleton engages with its communities to provide real-world learning experiences and to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, leadership, excellence and service.
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Contact: Dr. Rhonda Dobbs, School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies
817-717-3310
[email protected]
