Returning to Kennedy Hall on October 23 to moderate the second annual SCOTUS in Focus faculty panel event is Chapman Law alumnus Lieutenant Colonel Alex Douvas, USMC (JD ’05). Douvas currently serves as a Military Judge for the Western Judicial Circuit of the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary, and will lead a distinguished, non-partisan faculty panel discussion, featuring Dr. Tom Campbell, Interim Dean Ken Stahl, and Professor Lawrence Rosenthal, who will be examining select decisions from the US Supreme Court’s most recent session, this month’s SCOTUS in Focus event.

LtCol Douvas’ path through the military justice system to his current appointment as Military Judge began with an instinctive decision early in his legal education: to follow his calling rather than a traditional career track.

“I made the road by walking it,” he recalls—a guiding sentiment that has shaped his journey as both a U.S. Marine Corps officer and an attorney. From the beginning, he knew his legal path wouldn’t be conventional, but he trusted his sense of purpose. “This is difficult – can I do this?” He frequently asked himself, “There was always a chance I could fail, but I wanted to set this goal for myself and see if I could achieve it.”

Douvas was first commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from California State University, Fullerton, in 2002. He joined the Marines a year before attending law school and was already serving as a lieutenant when he entered Chapman University School of Law. He earned his J.D. from Chapman in 2005 and was admitted to the State Bar of California shortly thereafter.

Reflecting on those early days, Douvas says he didn’t know anyone pursuing quite the same path—combining a legal career and military service—but he felt compelled to create it. “You can’t really understand what it’s like to be a Marine, an attorney, or even a law student, until you’ve stepped into those shoes,” he says. That willingness to embrace the unknown has been a defining feature of his life and career.

After completing The Basic School in Quantico, VA, and Naval Justice School in Newport, RI, Douvas served from 2007–2010 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms as a Defense Counsel and Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General. Although he entered law school intending to become a criminal prosecutor, his first assignment as a defense attorney presented him with unexpected challenges. “It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was what I needed,” he explains, crediting that experience with broadening his perspective and making him a stronger advocate—and later, a better judge.

From 2010–2012, Douvas served at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as a Trial Counsel (prosecutor) and Senior Trial Counsel before deploying to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, with 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He later served as a Regional Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, prosecuting felony offenses in federal court, before earning his LL.M. in Criminal Law from the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, VA, in 2015. His later assignments included serving as a Senior Defense Counsel, a deployed legal advisor for the Marine Corps’ Crisis Response Air-Ground Task Force in Iraq and Syria, and Professor of Criminal Law at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, VA, where he would later become Vice Chair of the Criminal Law Department. From 2021–2024, Douvas returned to the defense bar a third time, serving as the Regional Defense Counsel responsible for overseeing defense services throughout the western United States. He then served as the General Counsel for MCAS Miramar before his current appointment as Military Judge.

He takes particular pride in being part of the only branch without a dedicated JAG Corps, noting that Marine lawyers serve first as line officers and second as attorneys, “to go through what other Marines do—to be trained and treated the same as everyone else—makes us better advocates,” he reflects. Douvas goes on to explain that the heart of military service lies in the oath every Marine takes: to support and defend the Constitution. In the military justice system, that oath translates into not just achieving specific outcomes, “but ones that are just,” he explains. That philosophy has guided him through nearly two decades of service and now into his role on the bench.

As he reflects on nearly twenty years in uniform, Douvas says the work remains deeply fulfilling. “I enjoy working with people at every level—from brand-new attorneys who just passed the bar to brand-new judges like myself,” he says. He’s quick to add that the learning never stops, “new or unfamiliar issues pop up all the time that I have to get smart on.”

Looking ahead, Douvas is himself mindful of the same questions he asks the young lawyers and students he mentors: Who are you? What drives you? For Douvas, the answer always comes back to service. “Do what you feel God put you on this earth to do,” he advises. “Find your North Star—the thing that keeps you moving forward even when it’s hard.”

That calling has led him to discover a passion for teaching and mentorship. He has taught political science to non-lawyers and criminal law to would-be military judges, finding deep fulfillment in helping students unlock their potential. Douvas credits his Chapman education—especially classes with Professors Hugh Hewitt and the late Nancy Schultz—with sparking his passion for constitutional law and litigation.

He remains active in the Chapman alumni community, making himself available to offer candid responses to students with questions about law, service, or how to navigate both. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” he says with a grin, “but mistakes are the best teacher.”

As he continues to grow into his role as a judge, Douvas remains committed to the same principles that have guided him from the start: service, teaching and faithfulness to the Constitution. His journey reflects not only the road he has walked, but the path he helps others find.

We look forward to welcoming alumnus, Marine and judge Alex Douvas back to Chapman as he moderates the SCOTUS in Focus faculty panel as they reflect on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024–25 term.