The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (CCFAJ), created by the California State Senate to examine the causes of wrongful convictions and make recommendations and proposals to further insure that the administration of criminal justice in California is just, fair and accurate, announced it will hold a public hearing to address the issues of remedies for wrongful conviction. The Executive Director of CCFAJ is Santa Clara University School of Law professor Jerry Uelmen.
The hearing will take place from 9:30 am to noon on Wednesday, October 17th in the Kennedy Commons on the Santa Clara University campus. The Commission issued a list of five sets of questions to focus its inquiry. Among the experts invited to address the Commission are Professor Myrna Raeder of Southwestern University Law School, a member of the American Bar Association Innocence Committee; Professor Justin P. Brooks of California Western School of Law, Director of the Southern California Innocence Project; and Professor Cookie Ridolfi of Santa Clara University School of law, Director of the Northern California Innocence Project. Several California exonerees will also address the Commission.
This will be the sixth public hearing convened by the Commission. Prior hearings addressed the problems surrounding eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, testimony by in-custody informants, and forensic evidence and professional responsibility of prosecutors and defense lawyers. Interim reports issued by the Commission addressing these issues can be viewed at the Commission’s website, http://www.ccfaj.org.
