The Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) brings together nationally-recognized scholars, top criminal law practitioners, judges and students through a variety of programs designed to enhance the study and practice of criminal law. The Institute includes such established programs as the Texas Innocence Network, the Criminal Prosecution and Criminal Defense Clinics, the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center, and the Criminal Trial Advocacy training program. The Institute also offers opportunities for educational and practice programs, a dual degree in law and criminology, and conferences and symposia. All of the activities of the Institute aim to enhance the practice of criminal law at the local, national, and international levels.

Undergraduate Criminal Justice Program or Police Officer Training—click here or here.

Free and Low-Cost Legal Services—click here.

For further information about the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, browse here or contact:

Criminal Justice Institute
University of Houston Law Center
100 Law Center
Houston, TX 77204-6060
E-mail: CJI@uh.edu

Professor David Dow,
Co-Director

Exonerated Project Video
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The Texas Innocence Network (TIN) is a program that focuses exclusively on investigating claims of actual innocence raised by inmates in Texas or elsewhere. The TIN relies principally on law students to pursue factual investigation; the students work under the supervision of Professor David R. Dow or local attorneys. To date, TIN has secured the release of two falsely accused individuals and assisted numerous others in their pursuits for justice.

The twin aims of the TIN are pedagogical and service-oriented. From a pedagogic standpoint, the TIN gives students the opportunity to conduct non-scripted factual investigations. Students who enroll in the TIN class receive classroom instruction in conducting field investigations, interviewing witnesses, reviewing police and crime-scene records, crime-scene reconstruction, and the like.

From a service standpoint, the TIN provides a resource for inmates who did not commit the crime for which they were sentenced. Unlike some other innocence programs, the TIN accepts cases involving DNA evidence as well as cases that do not.

In death penalty cases, the TIN becomes involved once habeas counsel is appointed. In non-death penalty cases, the TIN does not become involved prior to the case's becoming final. Thus, except for death penalty cases, it is not until the direct appeal has concluded that the case is ripe for the TIN. In addition, the TIN does not represent inmates; instead, the TIN works in cooperation with the inmate's counsel, if the inmate is represented. For inmates who are not represented, if the TIN discovers evidence of actual innocence, the TIN assists the inmate in locating counsel to pursue post-conviction relief, including habeas corpus litigation or clemency proceedings.

Professor Ellen Marrus,
Co-Director, Center for Children, Law & Policy

Center for Children, Law & Policy

Southwest Juvenile Defender Center

As a part of the National Juvenile Defender Center, the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center provides technical assistance and training to attorneys practicing juvenile defense in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. The Center also acts as a clearinghouse for an exchange of resources and ideas in the area of juvenile delinquency and develops policy statements on pressing juvenile justice issues.

Advocacy Skills

Clinic Programs

The Litigation Skills Program offers several skills training courses on trial advocacy and pretrial procedure in which students learn how to litigate a criminal case, from both the prosecution and defense sides, from indictment to verdict. Student play the role of counsel for the prosecution and defense at each stage of the proceedings including bringing and defending against pretrial motions and in trying a criminal case to its conclusions. The courses are taught by some of the top criminal lawyers and judges in Houston. The Program also participates each year in several national criminal trial advocacy and moot court competitions which have brought both national championships and recognition to the Law Center. The Program also maintains an extensive video library of lectures and presentation be renowned national and regional criminal trial lawyers.

The Criminal Prosecution Clinic gives students a prosecutor's view of the criminal justice system and lets them work directly with assistant district attorneys in various proceedings. The clinic is made possible through a special liason with the offices of the Harris County District Attorney and the Fort Bend County District Attorney.