LAWS 8263 BC Innocence Program Clinic

BCIP Clinic students work under the supervision of Prof. Beckman and Staff Attorneys Charlotte Whitmore and Lauren Jacobs to investigate and litigate post-conviction cases on behalf of clients who maintain they were wrongfully convicted in Massachusetts for crimes they did not commit. BCIP Clinic students meet with, interview, and counsel clients; plan and carry out factual investigations, including witness interviews; evaluate potential innocence cases to determine which ones to litigate; collaborate with co-counsel; work with expert witnesses; meet with prosecutors; draft legal research memoranda, investigative reports, correspondence, motions, affidavits, and memoranda of law; and prepare for and participate in judicial proceedings to obtain access to scientific testing of physical evidence, and to vacate the convictions of innocent clients and free them from wrongful imprisonment.

Course overview

Department
Law
School
LAW
Credits
7
Level
Graduate
Offered
Every Fall,Every Spring

Catalog details

Prerequisites
Criminal Procedure and Evidence recommended. or Permission of Department
Corequisites
LAWS4461

Catalog text is imported from the reviewed Boston College course snapshot. Confirm eligibility in EagleApps.

Requirements fulfilled

No source-backed degree requirement is attached to this course yet.

Official evaluation summary

4.65 / 5

Based on 92 aggregate responses from BC Avalanche/Blue evaluations.

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-08-02. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Charlotte Whitmore
    Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021 · Official rating 4.74/5
  • Sharon Beckman
    Spring 2026, Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021 · Official rating 4.59/5

Sections

No current section details are available.