LAW 8065 :
Externship:PA Innocence Proj.

Restrictions: 3L ONLY COURSE for Fall semester; 2L and 3L COURSE for the Spring semester. Special Requirements: Student Certification - Student Certification Forms can be found on the VLS Externship website in the "Forms & Documents" section under "Program Information" called: "Student Certification Form." Completed forms should be returned to: Priscilla Holmes, Associate Director for Academic Affairs in the Deans' Suite. Time Commitment: Must be available for training and group events all day every Wednesday for the semester in which you are enrolled. Students may enroll on NOVASIS. No prior approval is required. The Pennsylvania Innocence Project, one of more than 50 innocence projects nationwide, is dedicated to securing freedom for Pennsylvania inmates imprisoned for crimes they did not commit and eliminating the causes of wrongful convictions. The Project has a four-fold mission: (1) secure the exoneration, release from imprisonment, and restoration to society of persons who are innocent and have been wrongly convicted; (2) provide clinical training and experience; (3) address systemic causes of wrongful convictions; and (4) strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania through public education and advocacy. Students in this externship will receive training in criminal procedure and forensic science. Externs will use this training to screen, investigate, and pursue in the courts claims of innocence under the supervision of the Project's legal director and volunteer lawyers. Using DNA testing or other irrefutable evidence, externs will work to help identify, and then exonerate, Pennsylvania inmates who have been wrongfully convicted despite their actual innocence. Students will need to keep Wednesdays free for training and group events that will occur at the Innocence Project Offices. Additional blocks of time during the week will be necessary for on-site work, but the ti