Jailyn Suarez
Research Mentor: Olivia Vigiletti
Mentor Department: Michian Innocence Clinic, Law
Author(s): Jailyn Suarez, Olivia Vigiletti
Session: Session 6 (3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 47
Abstract
Wrongful convictions are recognized as a profound failure and a damaging flaw of our criminal justice system, yet the role of immigration status in shaping vulnerability to wrongful conviction remains almost completely unstudied. This research project specifically investigates the intersection of immigration enforcement and wrongful criminal adjudication by exploring the adversities that noncitizens and immigrant defendants may face due to structural inequities. Language barriers, limited access to constitutionally protected legal resources, heightened surveillance, and a complex of legal consequences are among the unique obstacles observed in this project. By addressing the gap between wrongful convictionsand immigration law, this project aims to create a more intersectional understanding of systemic injustice. To delve further into these complex dynamics, I conducted structured case-based research under the mentorship of Olivia Vigiletti (J.D., Michigan Innocence Clinic), reviewing cases from The National Registry of Exoneration that documented wrongful convictions and exonerations in which immigration status played a salient role. This process involved identifying the relevant cases via keyword search, extracting key legal and demographic information, and organizing all findings into a spreadsheet that served as a comparative database. The variables chosen included the type of conviction and contributing factors like police or prosecutorial misconduct, post-exoneration detention, and immigration-related consequences. Growing patterns from this case study show that immigrant defendants face compounded disadvantages in the criminal justice system, especially due to barriers to effective defense counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, and in-court emphasis on a defendant’s immigration status, errors in communication resulting from language or cultural differences, and the additional risk of deportation even in the event of exoneration. These cases show how immigrant status can make it more difficult to obtain legal defense and aggravate the negative effects of wrongful conviction. In the end, this study emphasizes the need to incorporate immigration status more explicitly into efforts to reform innocence litigation and other wrongful conviction advocacy. To provide more equal legal protections and guarantee that innocence work targets the entire extent of systemic vulnerability, it is crucial to acknowledge the intersecting structures of immigration enforcement and criminal punishment.
