LAW 7025 - Wrongful Convictions.

2 to 3 Credit Hours

Description
This is an elective course. This course provides an opportunity to study systemic errors in the criminal justice system that lead to the conviction of innocent people. Topics include: (1) the factors that contribute to wrongful convictions including eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, ineffective assistance of counsel, jailhouse informants, police and prosecutorial misconduct, “junk science,” and forensic fraud, (2) potential reforms that could be implemented to guard against the conviction of the innocent, (3) legal and philosophical problems related to the concept of “innocence,” and (4) legal doctrine and case law addressing claims of innocence and regulating access to post-conviction relief.