Legal Connections | Conviction Integrity Unit

Summary

The Conviction Integrity Unit, part of Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit, investigates claims of wrongful convictions to ensure innocent individuals are not unjustly imprisoned. Monique Cotton Wharrel, a criminal defense attorney, discusses the unit's role in reviewing cases, particularly those without DNA evidence, and its commitment to justice. Since its 2018 inception, the unit has reviewed 55 applications and thousands of fingerprint-related cases. Wharrel emphasizes the importance of preventing innocent people from being victims of the criminal justice system, while law students from Florida A&M assist in case reviews.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The Ninth Judicial State Attorney's Office has a Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) that investigates potential wrongful convictions.
• 🌍 Conviction Integrity Units exist across the country, with over 40 programs, but they are new to Florida, established in 2018.
• ⚖️ The CIU of Orange and Osceola Counties reviews claims to determine if individuals were wrongfully convicted and works toward exoneration if needed.
• 🧬 DNA evidence plays a major role in proving wrongful convictions, but not all cases can be proven through DNA.
• 🏛️ The criminal justice system should prioritize ensuring that innocent people are not wrongfully convicted, which makes the CIU's work essential.
• 📄 Applications for CIU reviews are available online, at the office, or by mail, and they can be submitted by individuals or on behalf of others.
• 👩‍⚖️ The interviewee has 20 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney and served as a professor and director at the University of Florida's Criminal Justice Center.
• 🎓 The CIU partners with Florida A&M University College of Law students, who intern and assist with case reviews.
• 📊 Since 2018, the CIU has received 55 review applications and is also reviewing 2,500 cases involving a fingerprint analyst whose work quality was questioned.
• 📢 If someone believes they or another person were wrongfully convicted, they are encouraged to reach out to the Conviction Integrity Unit for assistance.

Q & A

What is the Conviction Integrity Unit?

The Conviction Integrity Unit is a program within the Ninth Judicial State Attorney's Office that investigates claims of wrongful convictions to determine if someone was wrongfully convicted and push for exoneration if needed.

How widespread are Conviction Integrity Units in the United States?

There are over 40 Conviction Integrity Units across the country. However, the concept is relatively new to Florida, where only three such units were established in 2018.

Which areas does the Ninth Judicial Circuit's Conviction Integrity Unit cover?

The Ninth Judicial Circuit’s Conviction Integrity Unit covers Orange and Osceola Counties in Florida.

Can Monique Cotton Wha-rel discuss specific cases currently under investigation?

No, Monique Cotton Wha-rel cannot discuss specific cases under investigation, as they have not had an exoneration to date.

What role does DNA evidence play in overturning wrongful convictions?

DNA evidence has been a critical tool in proving wrongful convictions by identifying individuals who were wrongfully convicted. However, not all wrongful convictions can be proven with DNA evidence.

Why is a program like the Conviction Integrity Unit important in Florida?

The program is important because it ensures that innocent people are not unjustly imprisoned. The criminal justice system should focus on convicting the right individuals and protecting innocent people from wrongful convictions.

How can individuals or representatives apply for a conviction review?

Applications for conviction integrity reviews are available online, at the Ninth Judicial Circuit office, or can be requested by mail. Individuals can apply on behalf of themselves, or someone else can apply on their behalf.

What is Monique Cotton Wha-rel's background?

Monique Cotton Wha-rel has been a criminal defense attorney for 20 years and was a professor at the University of Florida for 16 years, where she directed the Criminal Justice Center.

Is the Conviction Integrity Unit looking for volunteers?

While they are not currently seeking general volunteers, they have a program where law students from Florida A&M University College of Law intern with the unit and assist in reviewing wrongful conviction cases.

How many cases has the Conviction Integrity Unit received since its inception?

Since its opening in September 2018, the Conviction Integrity Unit has received 55 applications for review, along with approximately 2,500 fingerprint review cases related to issues with a fingerprint analyst from the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Conviction Integrity Unit: Ensuring Justice

The video begins by introducing the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), a program created by the Ninth Judicial State Attorney's Office, aimed at investigating possible wrongful convictions. Monique Cotton Wha-rel, a representative from the unit, explains that while similar programs exist across the U.S., the concept is relatively new in Florida. Three such units were established in Florida in 2018, with the Ninth Judicial Circuit serving Orange and Osceola Counties. Their primary goal is to review claims of wrongful conviction and seek exoneration if the evidence supports innocence. DNA evidence plays a significant role, but not all wrongful convictions can be solved with DNA alone.

05:01

❓ Why the Conviction Integrity Unit is Critical

Monique highlights the importance of the Conviction Integrity Unit, noting that its existence is crucial in preventing innocent people from being punished for crimes they did not commit. The criminal justice system’s primary purpose is to convict the guilty, but it is equally important to ensure that innocent individuals are not unjustly imprisoned. The integrity of the justice system relies on addressing wrongful convictions to protect those who have been wronged by it.

📋 Application Process for the Conviction Integrity Unit

In this section, Monique describes how people can approach the Conviction Integrity Unit to submit an application for review. Applications are available on their website, at the office, or can be requested by mail. These applications can be filled out by individuals on behalf of someone or directly by the person claiming to have been wrongfully convicted. The unit makes it accessible for anyone to apply for a review of a case where there may have been a miscarriage of justice.

👩‍⚖️ Monique’s Journey to the Conviction Integrity Unit

Monique shares her background and how she became involved with the Conviction Integrity Unit. With 20 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney and 16 years teaching at the University of Florida as the director of its Criminal Justice Center, Monique was drawn to this role due to her deep passion for justice within the criminal justice system. Her career path and expertise make her well-suited for this important work.

👩‍🎓 Internships and Case Reviews

Monique discusses the involvement of interns from Florida A&M University College of Law, who assist the Conviction Integrity Unit in reviewing wrongful conviction cases. She explains that the unit has received 55 applications for review since its inception in 2018. Additionally, they are committed to reviewing approximately 2,500 fingerprint cases tied to issues with a fingerprint analyst at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, ensuring all cases maintain integrity and justice.

📞 Reach Out to Help the Wrongfully Convicted

The closing section encourages viewers to contact the Conviction Integrity Unit if they know someone who may have been wrongfully convicted. The segment underscores the importance of reaching out for help in cases where justice may have failed, and encourages the use of the resources provided by the unit.

Keywords

💡Conviction Integrity Unit

A Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) is a specialized division within a prosecutor's office that investigates claims of wrongful convictions. The unit's goal is to ensure that innocent people are not wrongfully imprisoned and to rectify past errors in the criminal justice system. In the video, the Ninth Judicial Circuit’s CIU for Orange and Osceola County is highlighted as one of three units established in Florida in 2018, reflecting a growing recognition of the need for such reviews.

💡Wrongful conviction

A wrongful conviction occurs when an innocent person is found guilty and sentenced for a crime they did not commit. This is a core theme of the video, where the speaker discusses how the CIU investigates potential wrongful convictions and works toward exonerating individuals if errors are found. DNA evidence often plays a key role in identifying wrongful convictions, though the video emphasizes that not all cases involve DNA.

💡Exoneration

Exoneration refers to officially absolving someone from blame for a crime they were wrongfully convicted of. In the video, the speaker explains that the CIU aims to push for exoneration in cases where a wrongful conviction is confirmed, though no exonerations had yet occurred at the time of the interview.

💡DNA evidence

DNA evidence involves the use of genetic material to link a person to a crime. It has become a powerful tool for both convicting and exonerating individuals in the criminal justice system. The video mentions how DNA evidence has been critical in many cases of wrongful conviction, though it is not always available or applicable to every case.

💡Criminal justice system

The criminal justice system encompasses the legal and governmental institutions responsible for enforcing laws, administering justice, and punishing offenders. In the video, the speaker emphasizes that the integrity of this system relies not only on convicting the guilty but also ensuring that innocent people are not imprisoned.

💡Application for review

An application for review is the formal process by which individuals or their representatives can request the Conviction Integrity Unit to investigate a wrongful conviction claim. In the video, it is explained that these applications can be submitted online, by mail, or in person. The CIU has received 55 such applications since its inception.

💡Florida A&M University College of Law

Florida A&M University College of Law is an educational institution mentioned in the video as a source of interns who assist the Conviction Integrity Unit in reviewing cases of potential wrongful conviction. The involvement of law students provides a practical learning opportunity while supporting the CIU's mission.

💡Fingerprint review

A fingerprint review involves re-examining the fingerprint evidence used in a criminal case. In the video, the speaker mentions that the CIU is reviewing about 2,500 cases involving fingerprint evidence due to concerns over the quality of work performed by a former analyst at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

💡Criminal defense attorney

A criminal defense attorney is a lawyer specializing in defending individuals accused of crimes. In the video, the speaker, who has been a criminal defense attorney for 20 years, shares her expertise and passion for justice as reasons for joining the Conviction Integrity Unit, further emphasizing the importance of legal advocacy in cases of wrongful conviction.

💡Injustice

Injustice refers to the unfair treatment or wrongful punishment of individuals, especially in legal contexts. The video highlights the injustice of imprisoning innocent people, with the speaker explaining that the CIU’s mission is to prevent such wrongs from occurring by thoroughly investigating claims of wrongful conviction and ensuring the integrity of the criminal justice system.

Highlights

The Conviction Integrity Unit investigates claims of wrongful conviction to determine if an individual was wrongfully convicted.

There are over 40 Conviction Integrity Units across the country, and Florida introduced three of them in 2018.

The Ninth Judicial Circuit for Orange and Osceola County is one of the Florida districts with a Conviction Integrity Unit.

The program is crucial in ensuring that innocent people are not wrongly convicted, which is equally as important as catching actual criminals.

DNA evidence has played a significant role in overturning wrongful convictions, but it is not always available for every case.

Applications for review by the Conviction Integrity Unit are available online or can be collected from their office.

Applicants can apply on behalf of someone or fill out the application themselves if they believe they were wrongfully convicted.

The speaker, Monique Cotton Wha, has 20 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney and was a professor at the University of Florida.

Monique Cotton Wha became involved with the Conviction Integrity Unit due to her passion for justice and her expertise in criminal law.

The Conviction Integrity Unit partners with interns from the Florida A&M University College of Law to assist with case reviews.

Since its inception in 2018, the Conviction Integrity Unit has received 55 applications for case review.

The Unit is also handling 2,500 fingerprint review cases due to issues with the quality of work from an Orange County Sheriff's Department fingerprint analyst.

Each case involving the fingerprint analyst is being reviewed to ensure the conviction's integrity is upheld.

The process of reviewing these cases aims to prevent wrongful convictions caused by faulty evidence or poor analysis.

Individuals who know someone wrongfully convicted are encouraged to reach out to the Conviction Integrity Unit for support.

Transcripts

[Music]

you may have heard of a case where the

person was released from prison after

serving decades because they were

cleared by new DNA evidence

well the ninth Judicial State Attorney's

Office has a program called the

conviction Integrity Unit to get to

invest investigate possible cases of

wrongful convictions Monique cotton wha

rel is here to tell us more thank you

for joining us Monique thank you for

having me tell us about the conviction

integrity program short so conviction

integrity is something that is not new

around the country there are over 40

conviction Integrity units across the

country however it is something that's

new to Florida there were three

conviction Integrity units created in

Florida in 2018 and the ninth Judicial

Circuit for Orange and Osceola County is

one of them our unit essentially

investigates claims of wrongful

conviction to see if someone was in fact

wrongfully convicted of the crime that

they are serving time for and we

investigate that claim and push for

exoneration if they were in fact

wrongfully convicted and can you share

some cases of wrongful convictions that

have come into your office well I can't

talk about any specific cases that we

are currently investigating as we have

not had a exoneration up until this

point however as you mentioned in the

opening there are cases on the news on

an almost daily basis unfortunately

about individuals who were convicted of

crimes and then it was later found that

they were not actually the individual

who committed that crime DNA evidence

has assisted a lot in finding

individuals who were wrongfully

convicted

but unfortunately DNA evidence is the

the only way that you know sometimes

there are wrongful convictions that

cannot be proven through DNA evidence

and why is a program like this important

particularly in Florida a program like

this is important because the criminal

justice system should not be convicting

the wrong person it is an injustice for

someone who is innocent to be sitting in

prison

just as it is important for us to catch

the individuals who have actually

committed crimes it's equally important

for us to ensure that innocent people

are not becoming victims of the criminal

justice system and what is the process

for approaching the office so in our

office applications for conviction

Integrity review are available online

and our website people can also come by

the office pick up applications at our

front desk they can contact our office

and have applications mailed out to them

so applications can be filled out on

behalf of someone or the individual can

fill out an application on behalf of

themselves okay so um another question I

have this is really interesting how did

you come to be involved in this

particular area of the law so I have

been a criminal defense attorney for

twenty years I was a professor at the

University of Florida for 16 years where

I was also the director of the criminal

justice center there when I learned of

this opportunity and I researched what

conviction Integrity actually is it was

the perfect job for me I believe that I

would be well-suited based on my

background and my passion for justice

within the criminal justice system is

your office currently looking for

volunteers so we currently have a

program where we have interns from the

Florida A&M University College of Law

and the students from them work with us

directly and they assist in the review

of cases of wrongful conviction very

interesting and how many do you have an

idea as to how many cases you might be

able to take on or new clients in a

given year so the applications that we

receive are not our clients we still

represent the state of Florida we

currently have received 55 applications

for review since our opening in

September of 2018 in addition to that

though we have a about 2,500 fingerprint

review cases that we have based on a

fingerprint analyst from the Orange

County Sheriff's Department that was

released for issues regarding the

quality of their work and we have

committed to reviewing each and every

one of the cases where that analyst was

listed as a witness in that case to

ensure that the convictions there have

integrity thank you so much for joining

us and sharing information about the

conviction Integrity Unit absolutely

thank you so much for having me yes if

you know someone who may have been

wrongfully convicted you may consider

reaching out to the conviction Integrity

Unit

[Music]