Join Pitt Law for the 2023 Law and Social Change Lecture featuring Daniel S. Medwed University Distinguished Professor Northeastern University on Thurs., Mar. 30 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Room 111, Barco Law Building.

By now, we know the main reasons why innocent criminal defendants are convicted. For instance, eyewitnesses make mistakes; police and prosecutors occasionally commit misconduct; and overworked defense lawyers sometimes provide shoddy advocacy. What is less well-known—and what will be the subject of this talk—is that while it is far too easy to convict the innocent on the front end, it is far too difficult to free them on the back end.

Professor Daniel S. Medwed is a leading authority on criminal law, focuses his research and pro bono activities around the topic of wrongful convictions. His book, Barred: Why the Innocent Can’t Get Out of Prison (Hachette/Basic Books, 2022), explores the range of procedural barriers that often prevent innocent prisoners from obtaining exoneration. He also co-authored the seventh edition of Criminal Procedure: Principles, Policies, and Perspectives (West Academic, 2020) and the second edition of Criminal Law: Problems, Statutes, and Cases (Carolina Academic Press, 2021).

This program has been approved by PACLE for 1 hour of CLE credit. There will be a $30 fee for processing CLE credit for this event.