Innocence Project Post-Conviction Clinic

Introduction

The Innocence Project Post-Conviction Clinic is a year-long, 14-credit course that focuses on the representation of individuals wrongfully convicted in criminal cases. Students work to secure the release of Innocence Project clients from prisons across the nation and help to litigate cases involving violations of constitutional rights and the development of new evidence supporting innocence, including DNA evidence.  

The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992, the Innocence Project has helped to exonerate or free over 250 people who collectively served more than 4,000 years in prison. Our work is guided by science and grounded in antiracism. Since its inception, student attorney work has been integral to nearly every legal success at the Innocence Project. Under supervision, clinic students will directly work to advance their clients’ cases. Students will also develop a deep understanding of the substantive law used to challenge wrongful convictions as well as how science, communications, and organizing interplay in bringing injustice to light.

Students in the clinic will work under the direct supervision of Professors Jane Pucher, Senior Staff Attorney, and Vanessa Potkin, Director of Special Litigation.

Course Description

Fieldwork

Students will be expected to complete fifteen hours per week of case-related work at the Innocence Project office. This work will give students the opportunity to directly participate in every aspect of exoneration litigation and learn about the legal and practical challenges of reinvestigating and bringing forth claims related to crimes that happened many decades ago. Under supervision, students will be expected to take ownership of their case work and will be able to measure the impact of their work at the end of the clinical year.

Student work will include, but not be limited to: researching legal claims for post-conviction relief and preparing memoranda on key legal and factual issues; engaging in searches to locate physical evidence for DNA testing; digesting trial transcripts, discovery, and court records; developing and helping to enact reinvestigation plans; consulting with a wide range of forensic practitioners and experts; communicating with clients by phone; leading legal visits and client interviews at state prison facilities; assisting in expert or lay witness preparation for evidentiary hearings; drafting motions for DNA testing and/or for post-conviction relief and release from custody; and assisting freed or exonerated clients with reentry, in partnership with the Innocence Project’s social work department. Students will also join strategy meetings and collaborate with co-counsel from around the country.

Seminar

Students in the clinic will attend a weekly, two-hour seminar designed to complement their fieldwork. The seminar will cover all aspects of the substantive law at issue in their cases with particular focus on the legal requirements and procedural barriers in bringing forth post-conviction claims for relief. Seminar sessions will also dive deeply into the common contributors to wrongful convictions, including eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, the misapplication of forensic science, and prosecutorial misconduct. The seminar will also cover DNA testing and its role in post-conviction innocence litigation; the impact of innocence exonerations on reform in the criminal legal system; the central role racism and targeted policing play in wrongful convictions; and the role of emerging technologies in wrongful arrests and prosecutions. Seminars will also focus on trauma and bias-informed client interviewing. In the spring semester, after completing a unit focused on the role of oral arguments in post-conviction advocacy, students will prepare and argue for post-conviction relief for their clients in mock oral arguments before a panel of leading post-conviction litigators

Learning Outcomes

Clinic students will improve their litigation, fact-development, collaboration and negotiation skills.  Students will also sharpen their persuasive legal writing abilities. Working directly with Innocence Project clients, students will learn about developing client trust, overcoming communication barriers, challenging implicit bias and fostering integrated decision-making. 

Application Procedure

Students interested in taking the Clinic should submit the standard application, resume, and transcript online through CAMS, the online application system. Professors Potkin and Pucher will contact you to schedule an interview

* 14 credits include 5 clinical credits and 2 academic seminar credits per semester.