“Barred: Why the Innocent Cannot Get Out of Prison” CLE Credit available

Professor Medwed is a founding member of the board of directors of the Innocence Network, a consortium of innocence projects throughout the world. Currently, he serves on the board of the New England Innocence Project. The author of multiple books and articles, he is a renowned scholar and teacher, and serves as a legal analyst in many high-profile cases. 

Professor Medwed will deliver a talk for the first hour. The second hour will focus on the difficult task of exonerating the innocent. Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, Jane Moriarty, will speak about her experience as an expert witness in the exoneration of a defendant convicted in federal court in Boston, MA, and will address the role of scientific evidence in wrongful convictions and exonerations. 

That second hour will also feature a case study discussing the exoneration of Greg Brown by David Fawcett, Esq., Partner at Reed Smith.  Fawcett was a member of the pro bono team that was awarded the Edward D. Ohlbaum Volunteer Award from the Pennsylvania Innocence Project in recognition of their work to free Brown, who was wrongfully convicted and serving life in prison. 

The final hour, which offers an ethics CLE, will be a panel discussion on wrongful conviction, exonerations, and ethics. Panelists include Dan Medwed, David Fawcett, and  Duquesne Kline Professors John Rago, Ashley London, and John Rice, with Professor Moriarty as moderator.

“We are honored to have Professor Medwed speak at the Duquesne Kline School of Law and spotlight the role that lawyers have assuring the integrity of the justice system.  The persistent problem of wrongful convictions and the need to exonerate of the innocent are among the most pressing subjects in the justice system,” said Jane Moriarty, Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, Carol Los Mansmann Chair in Faculty Scholarship and Professor of Law.