University of Virginia Library

Student Law Group Aids Poor Convicts
In Battle Against Illegal Imprisonments

By BARBARA HAND

State convicts who feel that their
convictions were illegal are now being
helped by a group of University law
students.

Constitutional law states that a man
convicted of a crime through evidence
illegally obtained cannot be imprisoned.
Consequently law students are aiding
those lawyers representing convicts who
feel that they have been imprisoned
contrary to law.

Steven Bricker and John McNally,
second year law students, are co-student
directors of the project, which is called
the Post Conviction Assistance Project.
The project is under the sponsorship of
the American Civil Liberties Union.

Mr. Bricker says that he felt poor
defendants do not receive adequate
advising. He blames this partly on the
state system of appointing a lawyer to
the man accused of a crime who cannot
afford to hire his own lawyer.

Mr. Bricker added that since the
appointed lawyer, is paid so little he
cannot afford to spend much time on the
case. In contrast, he said, the rich
defendant has a very extensive defense.

The purpose of the law school project
is to help lawyers by having students do
legal research and study individual cases.
In one month's operation the project has
had over 50 cases referred to them.

Prisoners may present proof before
the court that they are being illegally
held through the process of petitioning
for writs of habeas corpus. Much
research work is necessary to carry out
the habeas corpus proceedings.

Many lawyers who would like to
assist the indigent prisoners can not do so
because of the assistance of law
students.

All cases accepted by the project
must be referred to it by a lawyer, who
will coordinate his efforts with those of
the students. To keep project workers
from violating the state stature against
the unauthorized practice of law,
supervision and correspondence must be
directed by the lawyer.

The types of cases that may have legal
merit and are usually worthy of
investigation by a lawyer include; legal
searches and seizures, lack of impartial
juries, and involuntary and forced
confessions.

Other conditions for possible
consideration are improper instruction as
to the right to plead not guilty, known
use of false evidence, lack of a speedy
trial, and inability of the accused to
confront witnesses.

Mr. Bricker said that cases where the
prisoner accuses his lawyer of
incompetence are nearly impossible to
prove.

The prisoner who has a case
successfully handled does not necessarily
go free without the threat of further
prosecution. The man who received an
illegal conviction must be retried by the
state and be given a legal trial.

Mr. Bricker stressed that the purpose
of the project was not to get convicted
prisoners out of jail before they have
completed their term. He said that the
goal was to make available to the poor
the legal services equal to those available
to the rich.