In recent years numerous wrongly convicted individuals have been released
from prison after being exonerated by new evidence, often in the form of
scientific evidence such as DNA. This clinical project, part of the Frank J.
Remington Center, explores the procedures and barriers to investigating and
litigating postconviction claims of actual innocence through classroom
sessions and actual representation of individuals in prison who have viable
claims of actual innocence. The course examines the common errors or problems
that produce wrongful convictions, the process for investigating a claim of
innocence, postconviction discovery rules, the competing interests of
finality and accuracy in criminal litigation, state and federal
postconviction procedures (state collateral attack, federal habeas corpus,
clemency), the nature and uses of DNA and other scientific evidence, and the
rules of evidence governing admissibility of such evidence. The project
represents wrongly convicted individuals primarily in Wisconsin prisons. For
more information about the project, contact Professor Keith Findley or
Professor John Pray at the e-mail addresses below, or by contacting the
Remington Center at:
Innocence Project
Frank J. Remington Center
University of Wisconsin Law School
975 Bascom Mall
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 262-1002
