OUR STUDENTS

Students with the Innocence Project at UVA School of Law work in case teams to exonerate wrongfully convicted Virginians. These case teams are part of our two Innocence Project student clinics, which are overseen by two Directors and a Staff Attorney.

We have two distinct but related Innocence Project student clinics at UVA Law. Each year, we select and accept twelve clinic students for a year-long clinical program for academic credit (the Innocence Project Clinic). In addition, we have the Student Pro Bono Clinic, which is open to law students who wish to work on a case or related project in exchange for pro bono hours.

All of these students 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.

In addition, both clinics often take on special projects related to wrongful convictions. The Student Pro Bono Clinic also has a Policy Team, which works to prevent wrongful convictions on the front end through policy and legislative reform.