Shon Hopwood, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center who is known for his story of redemption after a federal prison sentence, has been convicted on multiple domestic violence charges and is being held in custody pending sentencing.
A D.C. Superior Court jury found Hopwood guilty of assaulting his wife, Ann Marie Hopwood, violating a no-contact order and attempting to pressure her into dropping the charges. He faces sentencing on Sept. 18.
This would not be the first time Hopwood was behind bars. He was convicted of robbing five banks in Nebraska in the 1990s and spent nearly 11 years in federal prison, getting released in 2008.
While in prison he helped other convicts with their appeals and he eventually wrote a book, “Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption.”
Following his release, he earned his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 2014 on a full scholarship through the Gates Scholarship Program. He later clerked for a federal judge and joined the Georgetown Law faculty in 2017. He also advised the Trump administration on criminal justice reform.
Hopwood pleaded not guilty in October 2023 to a misdemeanor assault charge. The June 2024 trial was rescheduled to June 2025 when Ann Marie Hopwood did not appear in court despite a government subpoena. Prosecutors discovered Hopwood had pressured his wife to leave Washington, D.C., to avoid giving her testimony.
In August 2024, Hopwood was charged with obstruction of justice and contempt for violating the conditions of his release. He again pleaded not guilty.
At a rescheduled trial in June 2025, Ann Marie Hopwood testified that her husband’s abuse began with controlling behavior and verbal aggression, eventually escalating to physical violence over several years. The couple is now legally separated.
The Georgetown Law website says Hopwood is currently on leave.
