Maria Lopez: podcast appearances and interviews

Maria Lopez is a Cuban-American lawyer and television jurist. She is known for her pioneering role in the Massachusetts judicial system, having been the first Latina appointed to the Massachusetts District Court by Governor Michael Dukakis. She continued to break barriers as the first Latina appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court in 1993. During her legal career, Lopez served as a Superior Court judge and worked as an assistant attorney general in the civil rights division of the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Smith College and earned her Juris Doctor from Boston University. In addition to her judicial roles, Lopez became a television personality as a jurist on the syndicated court show Judge Maria Lopez, where she shared her legal expertise with a broader audience. She was married to the late Stephen Mindich, owner of the Boston Phoenix newspaper. Lopez resides in Newton, Massachusetts, and has two sons, Michael and David Michaud, from her first marriage to Richard Michaud. Both sons attended the University of Michigan.