Reviewing and Righting Wrongful Convictions

Catalog description

The course explores and addresses the causes of wrongful convictions. We will also explore how the law has changed in response to what we've learned about wrongful convictions. Among other factors, the course will specifically consider interrogations and false confessions, forensics and their (mis)use in the criminal law, and eyewitness testimony and memory and factors that may make it fallible. The course will draw from case law, national academy of science reports and related research, and multidisciplinary research in the areas of psychology, social sciences, and the law. The course will also focus on solutions: how have system actors responded? What changes in law have emerged? What changes in practice, including practices in prosecution or police departments. We address the systemic causes of wrongful convictions and consider the impact of such convictions on men and women of color, particularly on Black men and teenagers, who have been disproportionately impacted. In addition to the seminar component, the course will provide students experience addressing and advising the Minnesota Conviction Review Unit (CRU.) The Minnesota CRU is one of a handful of state-wide conviction review units in the country. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, community members, legislatures, and policy makers sought ways to address the harms created by the criminal legal system. The CRU formed in 2020, when its partnership with the Great North Innocence Project led to grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. That same year, Attorney General Keith Ellison created an advisory board composed of diverse legal and community experts with direct experience in the Minnesota criminal legal system. Students in the course will work directly with the Minnesota CRU to assist the CRU in designing protocol and a prioritization of the hundreds of cases it has been asked to review. Students will not be involved in direct representation of any individuals, nor in the investigation of any individual claims. Rather, students will assist in reviewing and identifying the claims presented for review, and devising a system for their review. Students will work on the issues in small groups during every class. Assessments will be conducted in the following manner: Students will ask to write two short (3 pages) response papers during the semester; students' participation will also be considered; finally, the preparation and development of the experiential work will also be considered and weigh heavily in the grading.