Pepperdine Caruso Law Hosts Inaugural Quattrone Wrongful Convictions Appellate Clinic Conference
On October 2-3, 2025, Pepperdine Caruso Law hosted the inaugural Quattrone Wrongful Convictions Appellate Clinic Conference. The newly launched clinic, housed within the Ken Starr Institute for Faith, Law, and Public Service, is dedicated to fighting injustice while also training the next generation of appellate advocates. The event drew an engaged audience of nearly 100 attendees on both days of the conference.
The keynote lecture on the first day of the conference, titled "Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System," was presented by M. Chris Fabricant, director of strategic litigation at the Innocence Project in New York. Fabricant, a former public defender and law professor, is one of the United States' leading experts on forensic sciences and scientific litigation. In his address, Fabricant shared insights from his work challenging the use of questionable forensic practices in criminal cases and reflected on broader issues at the intersection of science and justice.
The conference continued with the panel presentation, "The Future of Justice: Innovation, Innocence, and the Law." The panel brought together Andrew Madrigal, a lecturer in the collateral consequences of incarceration and wrongful convictions, Dale F. Ogden, a federal public defender, Eric Miller, a criminal justice professor, and Caruso Law alumnus James Azadian (JD '01), leader of appellate and critical motions practice at Dykema, who discussed how artificial intelligence and technology is reshaping evidence, policing, and fairness in convictions.
On the second day of the conference, the panel "Why Innocent People Confess: Understanding False Confessions" featured exoneree Terrill Swift, Dave Thompson, an expert in investigative interviewing, and Jasmin Harris of the Innocence Network. The panel discussed the complex factors that can lead to false confessions and the implications for today’s justice system. The conversation provided important perspectives on the human and systemic challenges that contribute to wrongful convictions.
The conference also featured the presentation of the clinic’s first Courage Award, honoring Swift, who spent 15 years in prison before being exonerated by DNA evidence. Swift’s faith and resilience deeply moved attendees and reflected Pepperdine’s mission of justice grounded in compassion.