The Reinvestigation Project of Office of the Appellate Defender

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 FY16 (BJA - Wrongful Conviction Review) Pub. L. No.114-113, 129 Stat 2242, 2307. 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 First Department Assigned Counsel Corporation, under the Office of the Appellate Defender, will use the grant award to continue work under its early intervention model where it proactively reviews cases, shortly after conviction, in which there are serious questions about innocence, but no definitive DNA evidence. The award will expand re-investigative and litigation capacity, as well as support expert costs, and allow the grantee to serve as a model for other public defender offices on its early intervention protocols.

CA/NCF