[1] Meares was born to Robert and Carolyn Blackwell, who still live in Springfield, Illinois.

[4] Meares' first positions included a stint clerking for Harlington Wood, Jr. when he was on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, as well as a position at the United States Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, where she was a trial attorney.

She also served as Yale Law School's Deputy Dean from 2009 to 2011 and co-founded The Justice Collaboratory along with Tom Tyler.

[6] Meares has been a member of the National Research Council's Committee on Law and Justice, and was appointed by then-Attorney General Eric Holder to serve on the Office of Justice Programs' Science Advisory Board.

[5] In 2014, then-President Barack Obama appointed her to the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing when he created it by signing an executive order.