Elizabeth Ippolito Boals

Prof. Elizabeth Ippolito Boals teaches evidence, criminal law and a variety of advocacy courses, and is the director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy, at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla. Prior to joining the Stetson faculty in 2020, she taught at American University Washington College of Law for 15 years, serving in administrative positions that included assistant dean of part-time and online education, director of its Criminal Justice Practice and Policy Institute, and associate director of its Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program. Prof. Boals has published a variety of advocacy case files and books on criminal law and procedure and expert testimony. She is the recipient of multiple teaching and community leadership awards and is a longtime member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) teaching faculty. Prof. Boals lectures frequently both domestically and abroad on topics related to evidence, expert witness testimony, eyewitness identification and trial skills. Before transitioning to a full-time teaching position, she was a labor and employment litigation attorney for the U.S. Department of Commerce and in private practice. Prof. Boals began her legal career as a public defender in the Office of the Public Defender in Alexandria, Va., where she handled a felony caseload from trials in circuit court through appeals to the Virginia Court of Appeals. She received her B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and her J.D. from George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law.