
Karen Pita Loor
Clinical Professor of Law
Michaels Faculty Research Scholars
BS, magna cum laude, Barry University
JD, cum laude, Washington College of Law, American University
Biography
Karen Pita Loor was the associate dean of clinical & experiential education from July 2020 to June 2023, following eight years of teaching and supervising student attorneys in the Defender Division of the BU Criminal Law Clinical Program as they represent indigent clients charged with crimes in the Boston District Court. Loor also teaches a seminar that she developed entitled Regulation of the Immigrant Experience where students examine, through a legal lens, the obstacles immigrants face in American society.
As associate dean of experiential education, Loor understood that through BU Law’s various clinics, practicums, and externships, students learn, engage in valuable public interest and service work, and build productive working relationships with practicing attorneys. She views these programs as part of BU’s connection to and impact on its community, as BU Law students practice in local courts—and even on the world—as students travel on international legal services projects. Recognizing the impact that BU Law clinical students are having in real time and will have as practicing attorneys, Loor’s main priorities entail instituting training and support for students as they work to become culturally competent lawyers and encouraging them to explore systemic problems related to poverty, race, and other intersecting identities that affect the client population of many of the clinics.
Loor writes and speaks as an expert on issues related to protest policing, criminal law and procedure, police violence and immigrants’ rights. She encourages students to use their education to join conversations around legal matters and does the same. She has testified in support of legislation that would make Massachusetts a sanctuary state. She has organized trips – involving law students and other faculty — to the Mexican side of the border to assist migrants seeking asylum. She supervised a group of students who filed an amicus brief in a first-of-its-kind case arguing that Massachusetts state and local law enforcement do not have the authority to detain a criminal defendant pursuant to an immigration detainer.
Loor initially joined the BU Law clinical faculty in 2011 after serving as a clinical associate professor with the Florida International University College of Law, supervising law students representing unaccompanied immigrant children in immigration and neglect proceedings. She started her legal career as a staff attorney at the premier public defender office in the country, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where she represented indigent clients in criminal trial and appellate matters.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Criminal Law & Procedure, Immigrants’ Rights, Immigration Law & Policy, and Protest Policing
Publications
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Karen Pita Loor, An Argument Against Unbounded Arrest Power: The Expressive Fourth Amendment and Protesting While Black 120 Michigan Law Review (2022)
Scholarly Commons -
Karen Pita Loor, "Hey, Hey! Ho, Ho! These Mass Arrests Have Got to Go!": The Expressive Fourth Amendment Argument 28 William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice (2021)
Scholarly Commons -
Karen Pita Loor, The Expressive Fourth Amendment 94 Southern California Law Review (2021)
Scholarly Commons -
Karen Pita Loor, Tear Gas + Water Hoses + Dispersal Orders: The Fourth Amendment Endorses Brutality in Protest Policing 100 Boston University Law Review (2020)
Scholarly Commons -
Karen Pita Loor, When Protest is the Disaster: Constitutional Implications of State and Local Emergency Power 43 Seattle University Law Review (2019)
Scholarly Commons -
Karen Pita Loor, A Study on Immigrant Activism, Secure Communities, and Rawlsian Civil Disobedience 100 Marquette Law Review (2016)
Scholarly Commons
In the Media
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Universal Podcast of Human Rights June 7, 2024
Universal Podcast of Human Rights: Protests in the US with Professor Karen Pita Loor
Karen Pita Loor is interviewed.
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Crain's Chicago Business March 25, 2024
The DNC Will Shine a Spotlight on Chicago — for Better or Worse
Karen Pita Loor is quoted.
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Democrat and Chronicle February 21, 2024
Biden Said He Opposed Death Penalty. Why Do Feds Want to Kill the Buffalo Shooter?
Karen Pita Loor is quoted.
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Boston Bar November 7, 2023
Defending the Supreme Judicial Court, Rule 3:03, Student Practitioner Experience
Karen Pita Loor and Brian Wilson are quoted.
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SCOTUSblog June 24, 2023
Court Expands Government’s Ability to Deport Noncitizens for Offenses Related to Obstruction of Justice
Karen Pita Loor coauthors an analysis.
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Boston Globe June 23, 2023
Police Say Detective Was Involved in Tawdry Love Triangle with Informant and Alleged Drug Trafficker
Karen Pita Loor is quoted.
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MassLive June 13, 2023
Controversial Book Policy in Ludlow Up for a Vote Tuesday
Karen Pita Loor
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The 19th May 18, 2023
‘They Came for Blood’: Protesters and Witnesses Win Settlement 7 Years after Violent Clash with Police
Karen Pita Loor is quoted.
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SCOTUS Blog April 14, 2023
Pair of Immigration Cases Come to the Court on Key Issue in Some Deportation Proceedings
Karen Pita Loor co-authors a piece.
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MassLive April 13, 2023
10 Years On, Boston Marathon Bomber at the Center of Death Penalty Debate
Karen J. Pita Loor provides commentary.
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Courthouse News February 3, 2023
Terrorist Charges against Atlanta Protestors Draw Criticism
Karen J. Pita Loor is quoted.
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Law360 December 13, 2022
DC Circuit Could Rein In Outlier On Jan. 6 Obstruction Charges
Karen Pita Loor is quoted.
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The Dallas Express April 26, 2022
People’s Convoy Leaves Texas, Continues through California
Karen Pita Loor is quoted.
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Associated Press February 18, 2022
In GOP Embrace of Truckers, Some See Racist Double Standard
Karen Pita Loor is quoted.
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WBUR October 12, 2021
The Perplexing Case of Biden, Tsarnaev and the Death Penalty
A piece by Karen Pita Loor.
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Stories from The Record
Activities & Engagements
No upcoming activities or engagements.
Courses
Criminal Law: LAW JD 946
Examines the basic principles of substantive criminal law, including the justifications for punishment, the essential elements of offenses, mitigating and exculpating defenses, and different forms of criminal liability.
SPRG 2025: LAW JD 946 A1 , Jan 13th to Apr 23rd 2025Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Tue,Thu | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 4 | Zohra Ahmed | LAW | 101 |
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Tue,Thu | 10:40 am | 12:40 pm | 4 | Benjamin David Pyle | LAW | 102 |
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Mon,Tue,Thu | 2:30 pm | 3:50 pm | 4 | Gerald F. Leonard | LAW | 212 |
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Mon,Wed | 8:30 am | 10:30 am | 4 | Steven Arrigg Koh | LAW | 211 |
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Tue,Thu | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 4 | Karen Pita Loor | LAW | 413 |
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Tue,Wed,Thu | 2:30 pm | 3:45 pm | 4 | Sadiq Reza | LAW | 211 |
Criminal Trial Advocacy: LAW JD 981
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. This course meets in the fall and is mandatory for all 2L students in the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Advocacy focuses on teaching courtroom skills in the context of criminal trial litigation. NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2024: LAW JD 981 A1 , Sep 3rd to Dec 5th 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Fri | 10:00 am | 1:00 pm | 3 | Brian A. WilsonKaren Pita Loor | LAW | 602 |
Criminal Trial Practice I: LAW JD 982
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice I is mandatory for students before advancing to CTP2. 2Ls take the course fall or spring, as determined in consultation with the Director of the Criminal Law Clinical Program upon acceptance to the Program. 3Ls take the course in the fall. The course consists of a fieldwork and classroom component. The classroom component provides students with an introduction to Massachusetts criminal procedure and basic instruction in lawyering skills such as case planning and investigation. For their fieldwork, students are assigned to cases handled by senior members of the Program and conduct tasks out of court such as legal research, fact investigation, witness interviews and preparation. Students spend one morning a week in court observing and second-seating the cases they have helped to prepare. Students will receive more information about which morning they must have available for court before they must register for all courses. NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2024: LAW JD 982 A1 , Sep 3rd to Dec 5th 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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Thu | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 5 | Brian A. WilsonKaren Pita Loor | LAW | 420 |
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Thu | 4:20 pm | 6:20 pm | 5 | Karen Pita LoorBrian A. Wilson | LAW | 420 |
Supervised Research and Writing: LAW JD 841
Upper-class students may pursue a special research interest under the guidance of a full time faculty member, and earn one or two semester credits for a Supervised Research and Writing project (also known as an Independent Study). The study must involve a substantial investment of time and effort, and result in significant written work that reflects a high standard of legal scholarship. The student's final grade will be based solely upon written work submitted, and will be included in the student's average. NOTE: Students must register for Supervised Research and Writing directly with the Registrar's Office. You may not register via the Student Link.
FALL 2024: LAW JD 841 A1 , Sep 3rd to Dec 5th 2024Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Ngozi Okidegbe |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Sarah R. Sherman-Stokes |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Michael J. Meurer |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Robert L. Tsai |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Karen Pita Loor |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Naomi M. Mann |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Yoana Kuzmova |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Shira M. Diner |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Julio Henriquez |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Aziza Ahmed |
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Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Sadiq Reza |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Stacey Dogan |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Stefanie B. Weigmann |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Shira M. Diner |
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Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Sadiq Reza |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Glass |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Alan L. Feld |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Erika George |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Katharine B. Silbaugh |
Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Keith N. Hylton |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Keith N. Hylton |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Debbie Freitas |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | David H. Webber |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Hodo Walker |
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ARR | 12:00 am | 12:00 am | Var | Weijia Rao |
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