Experts

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Kami Chavis, J.D.

Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives

Chavis’ experience as an Assistant U.S. Attorney informs her expertise on hate crimes, police accountability, and criminal justice reform.

Biography

Kami Chavis is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia whose litigation experience serves as a cornerstone to her scholarship in criminal justice and criminal procedure. Because her expertise is expansive, Chavis is a leader in criminal justice reform and often writes and consults on matters of police and prosecutorial accountability, federal… Read More »

Kami Chavis is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia whose litigation experience serves as a cornerstone to her scholarship in criminal justice and criminal procedure. Because her expertise is expansive, Chavis is a leader in criminal justice reform and often writes and consults on matters of police and prosecutorial accountability, federal hate crime legislation and enforcement, and racial profiling. Chavis is also the authority on police body-cameras, having frequently contributed to local, national, and international media coverage on police killings of black men in the U.S. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Chavis worked on various aspects of civil litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and internal investigations. She is currently the Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives at Wake Forest University in addition to her role as director of the Wake Forest School of Law Criminal Justice program.

Media Appearances

In every tally of hate crimes, blacks are the most frequent victims

NBC News

November 21, 2018

The annual FBI hate crimes report remains important precisely because it clearly demonstrates what is actually happening in the United States, said Kami Chavis, professor of law and director of the criminal justice program at Wake Forest University.

At Stephon Clark funeral, a familiar story amplifies drumbeat for change

The Christian Science Monitor

March 20, 2018

“Do these laws protect good cops who found themselves in an unfortunate situation? Yes. But they also protect bad actors,” says Kami Chavis, a law professor and director of the criminal justice program at the Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, N.C. “We have to balance some of those protections against protections of citizens who are at the mercy of these officers.”

The Cliven Bundy mistrial highlights a glaring cultural flaw in our criminal justice system

Business Insider

January 15, 2018

“It’s important that we have protections for prosecutors [from spurious misconduct claims] to be able to do their jobs effectively, without fear of a chilling effect on their performance,” says Kami Chavis, director of the Criminal Justice Program at the Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, N.C., and a former US attorney.

Rollback of Federal Police Reform Program Riles Advocates

U.S. News & World Report

September 22, 2017

Kami Chavis, law professor at Wake Forest University, called the change an “antiquated and outdated mindset.” “It could potentially be sending a message to some departments that, ‘Hey, we’re the federal government, we’re going to look the other way, so do what you will,'” Chavis said.

What we know about the details of the police shooting in Charlotte

The New York Times

August 25, 2016

“If there was a weapon in his hand, then the case for using lethal force becomes stronger,” said Kami Chavis, a law professor who is the director of the criminal justice program at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. But she also noted that there have been cases in which a person was unarmed “but it was determined that a reasonable officer could have viewed whatever it was in their hands as a weapon.” In many of those cases, officers were cleared of criminal conduct. “Even if the officer was mistaken about what he had in his hand, and yet it was reasonable, it could be deemed a justified shooting,” Professor Chavis said.

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More Information

Areas of Expertise

  • Body Cameras
  • Civil Litigation
  • Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice Reform
  • Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Hate Crimes
  • Internal Investigation
  • Law Enforcement
  • Police Accountability
  • Police Killings
  • Policing
  • Racial Bias
  • Racial Profiling
  • s Police Reform

Education

Harvard Law School: J.D., Law

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: B.A., Arts

Contact

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