Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture Series
Friday, April 18, 2008 at 4:00 p.m., Worthington Center
Jacqueline McMurtrie, associate professor at the
University of Washington School of Law, will discuss her work as
director of the Innocence Project Northwest (IPNW) Clinic, an
organization that has overturned the convictions of 12 wrongly convicted
inmates since its formation in 1997. Admission is free and open to the
public.
McMurtrie joined the University of Washington School
of Law faculty in 1989 after a career as a public defender. Her research
and teaching interests revolve primarily around criminal law and
appellate/post-conviction practice, with an emphasis on wrongful
convictions. McMurtrie’s work with IPNW is linked to the Innocence
Network, an affiliation of international organizations dedicated to
providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals
seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted.
In her presentation, McMurtrie will give a brief
overview of the Innocence Network. Using case studies from different
countries, she will discuss the leading causes of wrongful convictions
and the reforms that can decrease the rate of error in the criminal
justice system.
To date, more than 200 people have been freed after
DNA tests conclusively established their innocence, while numerous
others have been exonerated through investigative work that uncovered
evidence of innocence without the benefit of DNA testing. “Studies of
the DNA exoneration cases and other erroneous convictions provide
irrefutable proof that wrongful convictions are not isolated or rare
events, but arise from systemic defects that can be precisely identified
and addressed,” says McMurtrie.
McMurtrie received a President’s Award from the
Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a Pro Bono Award
from the National Law Journal in honor of her work with IPNW. She has
been recognized as a Washington State “Super Lawyer” and selected by
students as a Phillip A. Trautman Professor of the Year.