JOYCE VANCE
Joyce Vance is an American attorney and legal scholar who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017. President Barack Obama nominated her to the position, and she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, making her one of the first five U.S. attorneys appointed by his administration.
Before that, Vance spent nearly two decades as an assistant U.S. attorney in the same district, prosecuting a wide range of cases with a particular focus on public corruption and civil rights. During her tenure as U.S. attorney she prioritized the prosecution of civil rights violations, financial fraud, and public corruption, leaving a significant mark on the district and the communities it served.
Among her most notable achievements in that role, Vance filed a statewide investigation into conditions in Alabama's men's prisons, successfully challenged Alabama's HB56 anti-immigration bill, and secured a voting rights settlement with the state of Alabama that brought it into compliance with the Motor Voter Act.
She also created a community-engaged initiative to fight the epidemic of heroin and prescription opiate addiction, developing partnerships to build awareness, prevention, and treatment options alongside her office's enforcement work, for which she received the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Lou Wooster Public Health Hero Award.
After leaving the Department of Justice in 2017, Vance transitioned to academia, joining the University of Alabama School of Law — her alma mater — as a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, teaching in the areas of criminal justice reform, criminal procedure, and civil rights. In 2024, she also joined the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law as a senior fellow, contributing to the organization's work on federal courts and the rule of law.
Beyond academia, Vance has become one of the most trusted legal voices in the country. She is a regular contributor and analyst for major news outlets, and co-hosts the #SistersInLaw podcast with fellow legal experts Jill Wine-Banks, Barbara McQuade, and Kimberly Atkins Stohr, as well as the Cafe Insider podcast with former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
In 2022, she launched the Civil Discourse newsletter, which has since grown to more than 215,000 subscribers, reflecting the public's hunger for clear, accessible, and trustworthy legal analysis in turbulent times. She also serves on the bipartisan advisory board of the States United Democracy Center, an organization dedicated to protecting free and fair elections.
Known for her ability to translate complex legal concepts into language accessible to everyday Americans, and for her unwavering commitment to justice, the rule of law, and public service, Vance continues to be an influential and steady voice in the national conversation surrounding American democracy and constitutional integrity.
