U.S. Attorney to give 2013 SULC commencement address, May 11
One hundred and seventy-three graduates are expected to receive the juris doctor degree this spring.
A 1991 cum laude graduate of the Law Center, Finley was appointed by President Barack Obama on January 20, 2010, to serve as the top federal law enforcement official in the Western District of Louisiana. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 28, 2010, and took the oath of office on June 2, 2010, as the first woman appointed U.S. Attorney in the State of Louisiana.
Finley is responsible for overseeing all federal criminal prosecutions including terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, firearms, narcotics, environmental crimes, civil rights, and white-collar crime among other criminal activity in 42 of the 64 parishes in the state. She is also charged with defending the United States in civil cases and collecting debts owed to the United States.
Prior to her appointment, she served as the senior litigation counsel and the acting deputy chief in the Lafayette office and as an assistant U.S. attorney in the criminal divisions of the Shreveport and Lafayette offices of the Western District. While in both offices, she prosecuted cases involving white-collar crimes, violent crimes, environmental crimes, drug trafficking, public corruption, and tax evasion.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder also has appointed Finley to serve as a member of the Attorney General Advisory Committee (AGAC). This body, consisting of 18 United States Attorneys from around the country, is responsible for advising the Attorney General on a broad array of Department of Justice policy issues. In addition to serving on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee, Finley serves on a number of subcommittees under the AGAC. She also served as a special assistant United States attorney in the Western District in 1991-1992 and in the District of South Carolina in 1992-1995.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Finley was on active duty with the United States Air Force, stationed at England Air Force Base in Louisiana and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. She is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, where she is an assistant staff judge advocate. She has recently been assigned to the 8th Air Force. Previously, she was assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, where she served as a hearing officer for criminal cases and administrative discharge boards.
She also is the recipient of various service medals including Accommodation and Meritorious Service medals.
U.S. Attorney Finley is a magna cum laude graduate of Grambling State University, where she earned a BA in political science and was selected as one of the nation's distinguished graduates of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. While attending SULC, she served as the editor-in-chief of the Southern University Law Review.
For more information on the 2013 SULC Commencement, please contact associate vice chancellor for records and enrollment management, Elaine S. Simmons, (225) 771-5340.