Students in the Wrongful Conviction Clinic will work collaboratively with the Minnesota Attorney General's Conviction Review Unit investigating claims of wrongful conviction and studying the systemic causes of wrongful convictions. The CRU was chartered in 2021 as an independent unit within the Attorney General's office to "conduct extrajudicial review of juvenile adjudications, criminal convictions, and sentences in cases with plausible allegations of actual innocence or manifest injustice." Students will investigate claims of wrongful convictions that have been pre-screened by the CRU. An accompanying classroom component will meet weekly to discuss assigned readings relating to systemic issues that lead to wrongful convictions and engage in collaborative "case round" discussions of clinic cases and projects. Students will prepare and execute investigation plans for their cases during capstone weeks and attend an in-person orientation in August. The clinic will require a minimum time commitment of 10-15 hours per week, inclusive of casework, the classroom component, and weekly or bi-weekly supervision meetings with the professor.
This clinic is a full-year commitment and may be taken for 3-5 credits per semester in the Fall and Spring.
Registration is by consent of instructor. Contact Kate Kruse kate.kruse@mitchellhamline.edu to discuss and obtain approval.
For more information about this clinic, students should consult the information on the clinic webpage: https://mitchellhamline.edu/clinics/wrongful-conviction-and-sentencing-clinic/
PreReq: LAW- 2015
LAW- 2015. May be taken concurrently.