UVA Law Two-fer: School's Innocence Project Has Conviction Overturned and Student Group Has Great Idea for a Public Interest Fundraiser
By: Steve Grumm
It’s a UVA Law two-fer. First, the Cavalier Daily reports that the law school’s Innocence Project scored an overturned conviction, first removing a man from Death Row and then having other, related convictions tossed:
Twelve University Law students helped overturn the wrongful drug and weapon conviction of Northern Virginian man Justin Wolfe last week, bringing an end to a decade-long struggle for freedom.
The decision comes more than a month after the students, as part of the Law School’s Innocence Project Clinic, helped convince a federal judge to dismiss Wolfe’s murder-for-hire conviction and death sentence.
…
The clinic, part of the Innocence Network, is an organization which works to overturn wrongful convictions of prisoners in Virginia who could be proven innocent — many of whom are convicted as a result of ineffective legal counsel or flawed police techniques.
Judge Raymond Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia agreed with a motion drafted by members of the clinic arguing that the jury’s verdict was the result of a flawed trial. He consequently tossed out the convictions and a 33-year sentence, according to a statement released by the Law School.
After an evidentiary hearing last November, Jackson found that the prosecutor had failed to share critical evidence with Wolfe’s attorney. This information helped the clinic work to exonerate Wolfe from involvement in the murder, said Clinic Director of Investigations Deirdre Enright.
Second, here’s a pretty innovative fundraiser for the school’s public interest student group. As reported by Virginia Law Weekly, UVA Law’s Public Interest Law Association runs a law book sale.
At the beginning of each semester, the Public Interest Law Association sells used text and horn books at greatly discounted prices, and this semester is no different.
Opened on August 23th, the event had already raised over $10,000 within its first four days and, as of press time, was on its way to doubling that figure. The proceeds of the sale are crucial for filling PILA’s public interest summer grant pool, out of which it gives $3,500 to qualifying 1Ls and $6,000 to qualifying 2Ls planning to do unpaid work over the summer.
I know of auctions, charity runs, basketball tournaments, and bake sales, but this is the first I’ve heard of a student association selling law books to raise cash for summer public interest stipends. If memory serves, the bookstore at my law school had a monopoly on book sales, and they ruled with an iron fist. So this never seemed like an option. Maybe there’s more flexibility at other schools. Anyway, great idea.
