Melissa Lou focuses her research on the intersection of criminal procedure and constitutional law. She explores how criminal procedure shapes charging decisions, prosecutorial and defense advocacy, judicial discretion, and sentencing outcomes. Her scholarship interests also include federalism, statutory interpretation, and antitrust law.

Melissa earned her law degree from Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Law and Policy Review. She also holds a B.S. in finance from Arizona State University.

After law school, Melissa clerked for the Honorable Jerome A. Holmes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and for the Honorable David G. Campbell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Melissa served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she prosecuted financial crimes, violent crimes, and public corruption. She is also an experienced antitrust litigator and white collar defense attorney.