The History and Structure of the TIDC Innocence Program
The legislative direction to TIDC regarding the support for innocence projects at the public law schools is broad, allowing considerable latitude in the way the law schools organize their innocence work. Three of the funded law schools directly employ supervising attorneys, while one, Texas Tech, contracts with members of the Innocence Project of Texas, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, to implement its innocence program. In all cases, Texas public law school students are given the opportunity to earn credit through a law clinic program or externship that provides real-world experience working on criminal cases.
For the 2012-2013 biennium the legislature provides $80,000 annually per university for each public law school innocence program to investigate claims of actual innocence from Texas inmates. These funds are generally used to defray the costs of one supervising attorney for each project, leaving few resources for investigative and litigation expenses, such as forensic testing and expert consultation. Because a substantial backlog of cases exists, the programs may seek additional funding to review more cases, cover the costs of litigation and reduce the backlog of innocence claims awaiting investigation.
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Updated: 18-Jul-2012
