This brand new course was researched and designed by Dr. Aleksandra Treglown and approved by the state universty where she is a faculty member. In this course, students will examine the causes and consequences that contribute to wrongful convictions in the U.S. criminal legal system. Through a combination of assigned academic articles and the text, students will examine key contributing factors to wrongful convictions, such as: cognitive bias, prosecutorial misconduct, flawed forensic methods, and systemic breakdowns. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to recognize warning signs of potential errors in their own criminal investigations, as well as be able to apply specific strategies to help prevent investigative mistakes in their own casework. Students will give a final presentation analyzing a specific case of wrongful conviction in the United States. This culminating project will identify errors made throughout the investigation that contributed to the wrongful conviction of an innocent person, as well as identifying investigative strategies that students could take to ensure justice is acheived in their own investigations.