Innocence Project at UVA School of Law

The Innocence Project at UVA School of Law is a legal aid student clinic at the UVA law school that represents a diverse array of wrongfully convicted Virginians. The clinic continues to litigate on behalf of several more clients who have been released on conditional pardons or parole but are not fully exonerated. Students with the Innocence Project at UVA School of Law work in case teams to exonerate wrongfully convicted Virginians. They investigate and litigate wrongful convictions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Some of the cases have forensic evidence (usually DNA) that can be tested, but most are non-DNA cases, a choice made consciously to reflect the reality that only approximately 10% of all cases involve DNA.

The clinic's policy team aims to identify and advocate for reforms on the front end that prevent wrongful convictions from happening in the first place. The Project's legislative reforms successfully eradicated draconian roadblocks to exoneration for wrongfully convicted Virginians. The Policy Team also successfully advocated for amendments to Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act that expand access to closed criminal investigation records.