Civil Rights
Wrongful Conviction
Being convicted of a crime you did not commit is one of the gravest injuries the government can inflict. When it happens, the law offers a path to freedom and to accountability.
What we mean
What is a wrongful conviction?
Wrongful convictions are not just tragic mistakes. They are often the product of constitutional violations, misconduct, or failures in the system that put an innocent person behind bars. Two things can follow: the fight to overturn the conviction, and, where officials broke the rules, a civil rights claim to hold them accountable.
How they happen
What causes a wrongful conviction?
Hidden evidence
When prosecutors or police withhold evidence that pointed to innocence, a violation known as a Brady violation, the whole trial is tainted.
Bad identifications
Mistaken or suggestive eyewitness identifications are a leading cause of wrongful convictions.
False confessions
Coercive interrogations can produce confessions to crimes the person never committed, especially with vulnerable suspects.
Junk science and misconduct
Discredited forensic methods, unreliable informants, and official misconduct have all sent innocent people to prison.
Two fights
How do you overturn a wrongful conviction?
First, undoing the conviction. Freeing an innocent person can involve appeals, post-conviction motions, new evidence, and, in some cases, DNA. It is difficult and demanding work, and it is exactly the kind of appellate and post-conviction litigation we focus on.
Then, holding the responsible officials accountable. Where police or prosecutors violated the Constitution, a civil rights claim under federal law can follow an exoneration, seeking to recognize the years that were taken and to deter it from happening to someone else.
Answers
Wrongful conviction questions we hear
How do you overturn a wrongful conviction in Missouri?
Usually in two stages. First the conviction itself has to be attacked, through appeal, post-conviction relief under Rule 29.15 or 24.035, or federal habeas. Only once it is undone does a civil claim for what happened generally become available.
What causes most wrongful convictions?
Mistaken identification, unreliable or incentivised witnesses, flawed or overstated forensic evidence, false confessions, and the withholding of evidence that should have been disclosed to the defence. Most cases involve more than one of these.
Can I sue for being wrongfully convicted?
Sometimes. A civil claim generally depends on showing that officials violated constitutional rights, for example by fabricating evidence or concealing what they were required to disclose. Being acquitted or released is not by itself a claim.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
The clock for a civil claim often does not begin until the conviction is undone, but the deadlines for attacking the conviction itself are short and unforgiving. That is the part people miss, and it is the reason to call early.
What evidence helps a wrongful conviction case?
The trial record, the full investigative file, anything that was never disclosed, physical evidence that can still be tested, and witnesses whose accounts have changed. Much of it sits with the State, and obtaining it is part of the work.
Talk to us about your case
If the system got it wrong, we want to hear about it.
Whether you are fighting to overturn a conviction or seeking accountability after an exoneration, reach out. You can reach us by phone or email.
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