Postconviction

Innocent people are convicted of crimes and spend years in prison while the real offender remains free. Although it is exceedingly difficult to overcome a conviction, even for an innocent individual, convictions are being overturned and individuals are being exonerated with increasing frequency. According to the Innocence Project, over 300 individuals have been exonerated based on DNA evidence, while thousands of other individuals have been exonerated without DNA evidence.

Check out The National Registry of Exonerations for a full picture of exonerations in the United States.

Briefs & Motions

Journal Articles & Reports

Practice Resources

The Champion - Articles on the Topic

External Resources

Trainings

Roundtable on the Trial Penalty & NACDL’s Trial Penalty Clemency Project [Engage & Exchange Series]

Incoming NACDL President Martín Sabelli (San Francisco, CA), Debevoise & Plimpton partner Judge John Gleeson (ret.), JaneAnne Murray (Director of the NACDL Trial Penalty Clemency Project and University of Minnesota School of Law Associate Clincal Professor of Law), Mudasar Khan (NACDL Trial Penalty Clemency Project volunteer attorney), and Steven Logan (Manager of NACDL's Return to Freedom Project) give an overview of the trial penalty and provide an introduction to the Trial Penalty Clemency Project.

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Back-End Advocacy: Second Chances and Second Looks

Panel from the 2020 Presidential Summit and Sentencing Symposium, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Law Center American Criminal Law Review

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Forgiving: The Campaign Against the Scarlet Letter

Panelists: John Koufos, National Director of Reentry Initiatives, Right on Crime; Margaret Love, Attorney & Collateral Consequences Resource Center; Jason Hernandez, activist, received clemency from President Barack Obama
Moderator: Cynthia Roseberry, Wilberforce University, and Former Project Director, Clemency Project 2014

Shattering the Shackles of Collateral Consequences: Exploring Moral Principles and Economic Innovations to Restore Rights and Opportunity
NACDL’s 17th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference and 2nd Annual Presidential Summit | August 23-25, 2018 | Atlanta, GA

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Appellate Advocacy: The Ethics and Practice of the Appellate Attorney-Client Relationship [webinar]

This webinar focuses on the unique ethical challenges appellate attorneys encounter in their attorney-client relationships. Topics include the nature and scope of the client’s role and rights regarding the decision to appeal and the issues to be raised in the appeal, the attorney-client relationship when an attorney is pursuing an Anders brief, responsibilities when ending appellate representation, and overall communications with the client during the appellate process.

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Appellate Advocacy: Persuasive Writing and Oral Argument [webinar]

Taking the determined set of issues as its jumping off point, this webinar provides insight on how to draft a compelling brief, which includes source citation, more on issue drafting, as well as drafting the statement of the case and the argument and making the most of oral argument.

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