Wrongful Conviction Review Program FY 2013

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 FY13 (BJA - Wrongful Conviction Review) Pub. L. No. 113-6, 127 Stat. 198, 253. 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.

Santa Clara University, in conjunction with the Northern California Innocence Project, will use its FY 2013 Wrongful Conviction grant to provide high-quality legal representation to inmates claiming factual innocence in northern and central California. The grantee will use its award to initiate litigation in at least five currently pending non-DNA related cases, as well as DNA related cases by hiring an experienced staff attorney, funding investigations and expert analyses, and attending required training.

CA/NCF