Book Review (Reviewing Wrongful Conviction: Law, Science and Policy, by James R. Acker & Allison D. Redlich (2011))

Abstract

James R. Acker and Allison D. Redlich are the first scholars to publish a casebook focused on wrongful convictions. Wrongful Conviction: Law, Science and Policy is an important contribution and a comprehensive resource for those interested in better understanding why innocent people are convicted of crimes and how to reform the criminal justice system to decrease its rate of error. The casebook can readily be adopted for undergraduate or law seminars on wrongful conviction, criminal justice or criminal procedure. Professors teaching innocence project clinics can use the casebook to supplement the instruction students receive on litigating post-conviction claims of innocence in the framework of their particular jurisdiction. Beyond the academy, it should be read by policymakers, legislators, judges, attorneys, law enforcement officers and citizens seeking to understand why our criminal justice system makes errors and what we can do to decrease miscarriages of justice.

Keywords: wrongful convictions, innocence, criminal procedure, law enforcement, evidence