Cardiff Law School Innocence Project: reflections on the first four years

In this resource reflecting on the growth of the innocence project movement in UK universities, Julie Price (Cardiff University) offers a personal insight into the day-to-day practical challenges she and her students have faced since founding their innocence project in 2005.

Julie submitted this resource to UKCLE in March 2010. If you have experiences you would like to share with with the legal education community, please contact us.

The full article is available to download at the bottom of the page.

Abstract

Following on from similar projects in the US and Australia, the Innocence Network UK was set up by Michael Naughton in September 2004 to provide help to people who have been wrongly convicted. It was conceived as a network of teams of people in academic institutions, both staff and students, who would review the cases of people claiming they were innocent and had suffered a miscarriage of justice.

The first innocence project in the UK was launched at Bristol University in January 2005, following the launch of the Innocence Network UK in September 2004. Cardiff’s was the second INUK project, started in September 2005.

Cardiff Law School Innocence Project was set up by Julie Price. Julie taught on the Legal Practice Course, and did not have a background in criminal law. She was interested in setting up a pro bono project at Cardiff, and following a visit to an open day for innocence projects at Bristol, was inspired to set up an innocence project in Cardiff.

After four years of running the Cardiff Law School Innocence Project, Julie decided that she would like to share her experiences and the lessons she has learned. Julie reflects on working with other departments within the university, the student selection and training process, workloads, resources, working with solicitors and barristers, interactions with clients and their families, and the support available to innocence projects.

Last Modified: 4 June 2010