Jimmy Gurulé: 1951—: Prosecutor, Law Professor Biography

In the field of criminal law there is no one more renowned than Jimmy Gurulé. During his more than 20 years as a law professional, Gurulé has earned a reputation as a crusader for justice—a man who goes full-tilt in his efforts to use the law as a means to help those victimized by society. Gurulé first gained prominence in the late 1980s as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles when he successfully brought down a Mexican drug ring. A solid, driven prosecutor, Gurulé was called up to Washington, D.C., in 1990 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush to serve as assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice, the first Hispanic to hold that post. Gurulé went on to become the Department of the Treasury's undersecretary for enforcement in 2001. In this capacity, he was the highest-ranking Hispanic law-enforcement official in the country. After the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Gurulé went to work untangling the web of terrorist finances and has helped freeze more than $125 million in assets. He has since returned to Notre Dame to teach criminal law and pass his knowledge on to others. Now, Gurulé serves as an expert, a teacher, and a role model to other Hispanic Americans.

Michael Olivas, a University of Houston Law Center professor and friend of Gurulé's, told U.S. News & World Report that Gurulé has always worked hard to bolster the image of the Hispanic-American and believes in always being the best no matter what he is doing. "He was always the first. That meant always realizing he was a role model and had to be better than everyone else around him. And he usually is."