WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: CONTEXT, FACT, AND FICTION
(LAWD-4033) - 2 UNITS

Television shows, podcasts, and news stories about innocent people fighting for exoneration have made wrongful convictions a hot topic in recent years. This 2-unit course will examine the innocence movement and its place in national prison and justice reform. Using primary sources such as police reports and filings from real cases, as well as articles and published cases, we will examine the causes of wrongful conviction. These include: false confessions, faulty eyewitness identification, bad forensic science, police and prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective assistance of defense counsel. Additionally, we will look at how innocence cases are portrayed in the media and evaluate how this has influenced Americans' ideas about the innocence movement. Throughout the semester, we will enjoy fascinating guest speakers from all corners of the criminal justice world, including exonerees, forensic experts, practitioners on the front lines, judges, and academics, including Professor Laurie Levenson, the founding director of the Loyola Project for the Innocent.

The course is not open to students who have taken or are taking Wrongful Conviction Seminar.

Pass/Fail:
No

Prerequisites:
None