Enhancing Case Investigation and Litigation Services

The purpose of the Wrongful Conviction Review Program is to provide high quality and efficient representation for potentially wrongfully convicted defendants in post-conviction claims of innocence. This program is funded under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act,Pub. L. No. 112-10, div. B, secs. 1101-1104; Pub. L. No. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034, 3134. Post-conviction innocence claims are likely to include complex challenges to the reliability or accuracy of evidence presented at trial which fall mainly into three categories: eyewitness identification evidence; confession evidence; and forensic evidence. The goals of this initiative are to: provide quality representation to those who may have been wrongfully convicted; alleviate burdens placed on the criminal justice system through costly and prolonged post-conviction litigation; and identify, whenever possible, the actual perpetrator of the crime.

The Arizona Innocence Project, through Northern Arizona University, will use the grant award to investigate and litigate cases more efficiently through the hiring of a full-time attorney and a private investigator. In addition, the grantee will increase funding for document retrieval and in-state travel to interview inmates. The award will allow the grantee to investigate and litigate backlogged cases in a more efficient and timely manner.

CA/NCF