The Wisconsin Innocence Project (WIP) seeks to exonerate the innocent and to train the next generation of legal leaders. They only accept cases from individuals who are actually innocent. Therefore, they only take cases in which they expect to find some form of new evidence. WIP does not represent individuals who raise only procedural or constitutional errors.  Students are led by a team of professors with expertise in litigation, motion practice, appellate advocacy, constitutional law, civil rights, and legal writing. Each year, under supervision, student teams visit prisons and interview witnesses. They consult forensic experts; they draft appellate briefs, and they argue dispositive motions.

WIP cannot offer help if any of the following is true - you are currently awaiting trial or are still pursuing a direct appeal, you are currently represented by an attorney, you are not claiming actual innocence, you have less than 7 years to serve of initial confinement, you are currently on parole, probation, or extended supervision, you played a minor role in the crime, you feel you should have been convicted of a different crime, you acted in self-defense, you claim an affirmative defense such as insanity, intoxication, provocation, you are not incarcerated in Wisconsin, you were convicted of sexual assault for an encounter that you say was consensual. If you claim you are innocent of the crime for which you were committed and believe that WIP can find some new evidence to demonstrate your innocence, please complete an application available on their website.