Current research
The Role of Defence Counsel in Preventing Wrongful Convictions
This exploratory qualitative research project is aimed at reviewing the informal communication networks available to defence counsel. It is postulated that counsel have access to many informal means of exchanging information, and if these channels are deployed, this type of professional exercise could help to prevent wrongful convictions from occurring. Themes of good fortune, professional working relationships and accountability were among the most frequently revealed through interviews with a sample of 16 defence counsel who have experience litigating post-conviction cases.
Wrongful Conviction & Motherhood
While the field of wrongful convictions has benefitted from an increased interest in examining the factors that contribute to wrongful convictions, the voices of wrongfully convicted individuals are significantly missing from these studies, and the voice of wrongfully convicted mothers is especially absent. Through a series of interviews with women who had to balance the demands of motherhood while also working to establish their innocence, respondents share their experiences of how the legal system shaped their identities as mothers while they were simultaneously convicted of crimes they did not commit. By considering these stories, our understanding of wrongful convictions will be broadened to consider an historically silenced group.