Our training course was created a little over a year ago, during the early months of the founding of Youth for Innocence. Over the past year of summarizing, investigating, and advocating for wrongful conviction cases, we’ve learned a lot about new tools to prepare cases for attorneys, and better ways to utilize old tools. Over the past few weeks, we have reimagined a new and improved training course. In preparation for Session 2 of our Fall Internship Program, we are excited to begin to actualize these improvements to our curriculum.
A picture of our new and improved training course!
You’ll see a few immediate changes to our training course, covering materials on a variety of new topics, including:
Case File Organization. Case files are complicated, especially for a new volunteer bombarded with dozens of folders for their first case. We thought we would give an overview of how we navigate case files, so you can use them like a pro.
Cataloging. As mentioned before, case files are complicated, and it can be difficult for lawyers to easily figure out which documents they currently have and which ones they need to access through new discovery. A catalog (i.e., a table of contents) helps both lawyers and advocates keep track of their files, ensuring documents are not obscured through complex navigation.
Case Intake. As Youth for Innocence has grown, we have begun to outgrow our initial supply of wrongful conviction cases. We want to highlight our new case intake process to quickly and effectively transition from learning about a case to delving into document summaries.
Over the next few weeks, we plan to release more changes to our training course, including:
New videos for RT notes. Since we specialize in RT notes, we wanted to try a new, more efficient way to teach them. Instead of using a 16-minute video to explain RT notes and provide examples, we thought we would separate these two functions into two videos; one short, 3-minute video introducing RT notes, and a longer video featuring a variety of Youth for Innocence members completing RT notes. We hope this new training will enable volunteers to write RT notes in their own style while emphasizing the fundamentals of RT notes.
Timelines. Timelines are a great visual supplement to help lawyers quickly understand a series of events. Often, witnesses contradict each other and occasionally contradict themselves. A great timeline can help expose witness unreliability and demonstrate the facts of the case. Our Director of Post-Conviction Work, Helena Palladino, will discuss the fundamentals of a great timeline.
Gang culture. Many of our cases are gang-related homicides. In this video, Jofama Coleman, a former gang member and exoneree, will describe gang culture, including gang retaliation, gang monikers, gang “turf,” and more.
Tracking down witnesses. Witnesses are perhaps the most common source for new evidence in an exoneration. Previous witnesses might recant their testimony, reversing their accusatory statements at trial, and new witnesses can shed light on the true culprit. Our partner investigator, Jessica Jacobs, will discuss her tools to track down witnesses as a licensed investigator. In addition, she will talk about how she decides who to contact for a case, and some of the risks faced by witnesses.
In addition, we plan to publish an Outreach Training Course! Through our outreach initiatives, we have realized that volunteers need to learn about a variety of subjects, including blog writing, social media engagement, Canva, and copyright infringement. Our new course will introduce volunteers to the basics of outreach, enabling them to begin their outreach journey and learn more through their work.
We hope this new training course will foster a new period of informed advocacy on wrongful conviction cases, further empowering youth to help overturn wrongful convictions and change lives.
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