Tracy Walts

Biography

Tracy Walts (’08) joined Boston University School of Law as a clinical instructor and lecturer in the Criminal Justice Clinic in January 2020. Tracy supervises student-attorneys in the Defender Program, representing indigent defendants in the Boston Municipal Court and Boston Juvenile Court. She also teaches Criminal Trial Advocacy and Criminal Trial Practice alongside the other clinic faculty members.

Tracy’s interest in the criminal justice system started while at LeMoyne College, where she interned as a mediator to assist individuals in avoiding criminal court. While pursuing an M.A. in Forensic Psychology, she worked at a psychiatric hospital for the New York State Department of Corrections. It is there that Tracy found people she wanted to fight for and realized attorneys got to do a lot more advocacy than clinicians. While a student at BU Law, Tracy was a 3:03 certified attorney in the Defender’s Program. She represented adult and juvenile clients in the same court hallways where she now oversees the next generation of BU student-attorneys. Through summer jobs, internships, and volunteer activities, Tracy spent her time working with clients in the community, local jails, and state prisons.

After graduation, Tracy began her career with the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS). CPCS is the public defender agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Tracy represented indigent defendants in Essex County District and Superior Court matters. In addition to her work with clients, Tracy supervised new attorneys and trained incoming staff attorneys, as well as private attorneys who take court-appointed cases. Given her background in the mental health system, Tracy represented many individuals with mental health issues that impacted their competency to understand the charges against them or their ability to tell right from wrong and conform their behavior accordingly.

After leaving CPCS, Tracy worked in continuing legal education at MCLE covering criminal law, family law, civil litigation, and legal services programs. Learning about other areas of the law helps Tracy support her student attorneys as they provide client-centered, zealous representation.