The Innocence Network
Yesterday I had the honor of attending a seminar on the Innocence Network, with emphasis on the innocence organizations here in Indiana.
I do not work at an innocence organization, but as an attorney that handles both direct appeals and post-conviction cases, the Innocence Network is certainly an important option for relief to my clients. Admittedly, until yesterday I did not know much about how the various organizations worked together.
In my criminal appellate cases, I always advise clients at the end of the appeal that if they wish to continue pursuing relief from their convictions, they should file a petition for post-conviction relief. And in the petition, they should request that their petition be referred to the State Public Defender’s office for review and representation.
The objection I hear most often from clients is that they don’t want to wait for 18 months to 2 years for their cases to be reviewed by the State Public Defender. Assuming that innocence organizations only took cases that had already exhausted their state post-conviction remedies, I have told clients in the past that the State Public Defender is their first and best option.
That is still true. However, as I learned yesterday, if I encounter a client who appears to be actually innocent, there are options available while the client waits on the State Public Defender’s waitlist.
The Innocence Network
One of the speakers yesterday at the seminar was Meredith Kennedy, the Network Support Unit liaison from the Innocence Project. Meredith provided a helpful overview of the 73 organizations that comprise the Innocence Network. A map of the Network can be found here: https://innocencenetwork.org/.
The Innocence Project is just one member organization of the Network, albeit the largest organization. Because of its size, it has assumed the duty of providing support for other member organizations. But it remains an independent organization, so criminal defendants can apply for help there, as well as with their local innocence organizations.
Meredith explained the typical life cycle of a case as it moves through an innocence organization’s process. The process begins with a request for help, usually from a criminal defendant. The majority of requests are from defendants, although innocence organizations do receive referrals from attorneys as well.
Once the request for help is received, the organization will usually send a questionnaire out to the defendant for more information. Once the completed questionnaire is received, the organization will review the case to determine whether the organization will represent the defendant. This process takes on average approximately 7 years.
The remainder of the seminar involved presentations by the three innocence organizations in Indiana.
IU-McKinney Wrongful Conviction Clinic
The Wrongful Conviction Clinic at the IU-McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis is the smallest of Indiana’s three innocence organizations. The Clinic has two adjunct faculty members that are lawyers who work at the State Public Defender’s office, some paralegal and administrative support, and law students who help review and investigate cases taken by the Clinic. Due to its small size, the Clinic currently handles a very small number (usually one or two) cases per year, all chosen from cases currently being reviewed by the State Public Defender’s office. Criminal defendants seeking help from an innocence organization should not, at this time, seek help from the Clinic, as they are unable to take on additional cases.
Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic
The largest innocence organization in Indiana is the NDEJC at the Notre Dame’s School of Law. Founded in 2020, the NDEJC not only provides direct representation for actually innocent clients, it also advocates for legislative reform and provides re-entry services to exonerees. The Clinic has four attorneys, two investigators, and approximately 18 students working in the clinic. The Clinic’s intake process largely tracks the life cycle described by Meredith. The Clinic accepts requests for help from defendants and from attorneys who believe their clients have been wrongfully convicted.
Indiana Innocence Project
The newest innocence organization in Indiana is the Indiana Innocence Project (INIP). Where the NJEDC has a fairly lengthy questionnaire to get as much information as possible from the defendant seeking help, INIP is taking a different approach. INIP has a very short questionnaire that a defendant must fill out. Thereafter, INIP will pull the information they need to decide whether to represent the defendant. At the same time, INIP is conducting research on requests filed by defendants to identify ways to make the post-conviction process for defendants better. INIP also accepts requests for help from defendants and from their attorneys.