By American Bar Association
Melba Pearson, a civil rights and criminal law attorney who works in the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University (FIU), has been named chair of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section (CJS).
As chair, Pearson will lead the section’s network of over 15,000 legal professionals, including prosecutors, public defenders, private defense counsel, appellate and trial judges, law professors and other legal professionals, to meet the section’s mission to initiate studies and research, raise multidisciplinary voices and talents and highlight ABA views for federal and state courts, Congress and other federal and state judicial, legislative and executive policy-making bodies to address complex issues and enhance justice.
At FIU, Pearson serves as director of prosecution projects, overseeing technical assistance, training and community engagement efforts around the field of prosecution. Her primary assignment is as co-manager of the MacArthur Foundation-funded Prosecutorial Performance Indicators' project, which aims to improve prosecutorial offices' efficiency, effectiveness and fairness through data, research, technical assistance and communications support.
Before joining FIU, Pearson served as the deputy director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida for three years. She was part of the leadership team that helped pass Amendment 4 in 2018 — the historic voting rights amendment that re-enfranchised people with felony convictions in Florida — and worked on criminal justice reform legislation, policing and expanding voting rights.
Prior to the ACLU, she was an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade County for 16 years. After prosecuting a variety of crimes, she was selected to join the Domestic Crimes Unit, focusing on serious domestic violence crimes as well as homicides for nearly four years. In her next assignment, Pearson was integral to the re-launch of the Community Prosecution Unit, whose goal is partnering with the community to find creative solutions to prevent crime and provide outreach. She ended her prosecutorial career as the assistant chief in the Career Criminal/Robbery Unit, supervising junior attorneys while prosecuting homicides. She was the progressive candidate for Miami-Dade state attorney in 2020.
Pearson has lectured nationwide to prosecutors on behalf of the National District Attorneys Association and has spoken on and moderated panels for the ABA, the National Black Prosecutors Association (NBPA), the (Miami) Dade County Bar Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National District Attorneys Association and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
She has also been a guest on local as well as national media regarding legal trends including Court TV, Law & Crime and Legal AF on the MeidasTouch Network.
Her extensive record of community involvement includes serving as NBPA past president and immediate past president of the NBPA Foundation. Her path to ABA Criminal Justice Section chair includes service as co-chair of the Prosecution Function Committee and CJS vice chair. Additionally, she is a former vice chair of the Florida Justice Center and past president of the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association in South Florida.
Pearson earned her B.A. from New York University and her law degree from Hofstra University (Maurice Dean) School of Law.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/08/melba-peterson-named-cjs-chair/)
Melba Pearson, a civil rights and criminal law attorney who works in the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University (FIU), has been named chair of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section (CJS).
As chair, Pearson will lead the section’s network of over 15,000 legal professionals, including prosecutors, public defenders, private defense counsel, appellate and trial judges, law professors and other legal professionals, to meet the section’s mission to initiate studies and research, raise multidisciplinary voices and talents and highlight ABA views for federal and state courts, Congress and other federal and state judicial, legislative and executive policy-making bodies to address complex issues and enhance justice.
At FIU, Pearson serves as director of prosecution projects, overseeing technical assistance, training and community engagement efforts around the field of prosecution. Her primary assignment is as co-manager of the MacArthur Foundation-funded Prosecutorial Performance Indicators' project, which aims to improve prosecutorial offices' efficiency, effectiveness and fairness through data, research, technical assistance and communications support.
Before joining FIU, Pearson served as the deputy director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida for three years. She was part of the leadership team that helped pass Amendment 4 in 2018 — the historic voting rights amendment that re-enfranchised people with felony convictions in Florida — and worked on criminal justice reform legislation, policing and expanding voting rights.
Prior to the ACLU, she was an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade County for 16 years. After prosecuting a variety of crimes, she was selected to join the Domestic Crimes Unit, focusing on serious domestic violence crimes as well as homicides for nearly four years. In her next assignment, Pearson was integral to the re-launch of the Community Prosecution Unit, whose goal is partnering with the community to find creative solutions to prevent crime and provide outreach. She ended her prosecutorial career as the assistant chief in the Career Criminal/Robbery Unit, supervising junior attorneys while prosecuting homicides. She was the progressive candidate for Miami-Dade state attorney in 2020.
Pearson has lectured nationwide to prosecutors on behalf of the National District Attorneys Association and has spoken on and moderated panels for the ABA, the National Black Prosecutors Association (NBPA), the (Miami) Dade County Bar Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National District Attorneys Association and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
She has also been a guest on local as well as national media regarding legal trends including Court TV, Law & Crime and Legal AF on the MeidasTouch Network.
Her extensive record of community involvement includes serving as NBPA past president and immediate past president of the NBPA Foundation. Her path to ABA Criminal Justice Section chair includes service as co-chair of the Prosecution Function Committee and CJS vice chair. Additionally, she is a former vice chair of the Florida Justice Center and past president of the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association in South Florida.
Pearson earned her B.A. from New York University and her law degree from Hofstra University (Maurice Dean) School of Law.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/08/melba-peterson-named-cjs-chair/)
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