The San Diego County district attorney's office on Wednesday announced the establishment of the George "Woody" Clarke Conviction Review Unit, which formalizes and expands the work already being done by the office in the area of post-conviction review.
The unit will review convictions in which credible and verifiable evidence of innocence exists or new technology can be used to test or re-test remaining evidence, according to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.
"As much as we do justice by vigorously prosecuting those who violate the law, we also do justice by protecting the innocent in our search for the truth before, during and after a conviction," Dumanis said. "It is our duty to protect the innocent and ensure justice."
The unit will initially be staffed by two full-time deputy district attorneys, Bryn Kirvin and Brent Neck. The public, attorneys and convicted persons can now apply to have a conviction reviewed via a new page on the district attorney's website.
The post-conviction review unit is named for the late George "Woody" Clarke, who was a prosecutor in the San Diego County district attorney's office before being named to the Superior Court bench.
Clarke, along with Deputy District Attorney Lisa Weinreb, were among the first prosecutors in the nation to initiate the type of post-conviction work the unit will tackle.
The San Diego County district attorney's office has been a national leader in the area of conviction review. In 2000, the district attorney sent letters to hundreds of sentenced prisoners, offering to test DNA evidence in their closed cases.
The office is the first in the nation to track DNA hits within its electronic case management system, making it possible to discover a wrongful conviction when a DNA hit belongs to someone other than the person prosecuted.
In 2011, the district attorney's office appointed a liaison to the California Western School of Law Innocence Project. That attorney facilitated DNA testing, searches for remaining evidence in closed cases, reviewed convictions, and fielded numerous post-conviction related questions.
Claims of innocence must meet the following prerequisites:
• The conviction must have occurred in San Diego County Superior Court.
• The applicant must still be in custody, serving time on the sentence for which he or she was convicted.
• The conviction must be for a violent and/or serious felony as defined by Penal Code sections 667.5 (c) and 1192.7 (c) (1-42) (e.g., murder, rape, robbery, etc.).
• The application for review must be based on credible and verifiable evidence of innocence.
• The applicant agrees to fully cooperate with the district attorney's office, which includes providing disclosure of all relevant information during the review process.
Applications will be accepted in writing only via fax at (619) 531-3428 or email at CRU@sdcda.org.
