SANTA CLARA, CA
Innocence Network Conference: The national Innocence Network Conference will take place this year at Santa Clara University, home base of the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP). The three-day conference, which brings together hundreds of people who work against wrongful convictions, is planned for March 28-30.
Among those attending the event are attorneys, educators, civic and business leaders, and exonerated individuals who have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. John Van de Kamp, former state attorney general, will participate in the conference, along with speakers representing Innocence Projects from Hawaii, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, New York and New Orleans, including the co-founders of the first Innocence Project, professors Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld of Cardozo School of Law.
Those assisting with the conference from SCU include law professors Gerald Uelman, who is director of the California Commission for the Fair Administration of Justice and Kathleen "Cookie" Ridolfi, director of the NCIP. The event is aimed at Network members but is open to anyone interested.
According to Ridolfi, "The Innocence Network Conference is a rich educational forum for policy and litigation issues concerning wrongful conviction. It allows those working within the Network to come together and share strategies to litigate innocence claims and to confer on and advance policy initiatives to address causes of and remedies for wrongful conviction."
Activities throughout the three-day event include meetings, panel discussions, special presentations and sessions designed specifically for exonerees. One objective of the conference, say organizers, is to provide an opportunity for exonerees to find social and emotional support from others who have suffered similar experiences.
Hearing on the Death Penalty: The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice will be holding it’s third and final public hearing at Santa Clara University on the fair administration of the death penalty from 9:30-12:30 pm, on the first morning of the conference (March 28th). Please see the commission’s website at www.ccfaj.org or contact Christopher Boscia at 554-5002 for more information.
Inaugural Justice for All Awards Dinner: NCIP will hold its inaugural awards dinner on Thursday, March 27th, the night before the conference begins, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose to honor five individuals for their work on behalf of the wrongfully convicted. Award recipients include: Frank Quattrone, NCIP’s Advisory Board Chair; John Van de Kamp, chair of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice; exoneree Antoine Goff; and Dana Nachman and Don Hardy, local documentary filmmakers who worked closely with the NCIP on their film An American Witch Hunt. Attorney Barry Scheck will give the keynote address. (For more information on the awards dinner and conference, visit http://lawscuedustage.wpengine.com/ncip/).
Event details:
Justice for All Awards Dinner
Thursday, March 27, 6 p.m.
Fairmont Hotel
170 South Market Street, San Jose, CA 95113
Public Hearing on the Fair Administration of the Death Penalty in California
Friday, March 28th 9:30-12:30
Santa Clara University, California Mission Room
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053
2008 Innocence Network Conference
Friday, March 28-30
Santa Clara University, Various locations on campus
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053
Recommended sessions for media:
Welcome Dinner and keynote by Robert Warden
March 28, 5:30 pm.
Benson Center, Santa Clara University
Barred from Life, Performance
March 28, 7:30 p.m.
Mayer Theatre, Santa Clara University
Plenary Session: Victims Panel
March 29, 9:15-10:45 a.m. (time subject to change)
Mayer Theatre, Santa Clara University
Panel is comprised of victims, policy makers, and advocates from the victim’s movement.
For more event details, please contact Amy Kennedy at aekennedy@scu.edu, or see the conference webpage at http://lawscuedustage.wpengine.com/ncip/innocence-network-conference.cfm
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,685 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
