ABOUT
Mission: The VERITAS Initiative’s mission is to advance the integrity of the criminal justice system through research and data-driven reform.
The Veritas Initiative is a program of Santa Clara University School of Law and was launched in the fall of 2010 with the release of the most comprehensive statewide study ever undertaken on prosecutorial misconduct in state and federal courts. The VERITAS Initiative’s work has prompted national dialogue on the fair administration of justice and the critical importance of accountability in the justice system.
Who we are:
Director: Kathleen “Cookie” Ridolfi is a Professor of Law at Santa Clara University School of Law and the co-founder and former Executive Director of the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP). In 2004, Professor Ridolfi co-founded the Innocence Network, an affiliation of organizations dedicated to pursuing exonerations on behalf of wrongfully convicted prisoners and working to redress the causes of wrongful conviction. She was lead researcher and co-author of Preventable Error, A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 1997-2009. From 2004-2008, she served on the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice tasked with the study and review of the administration of criminal justice in California.
Professor Ridolfi remains committed to educating law students by teaching in the areas of criminal law, wrongful conviction, and legal ethics. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including California Lawyer Magazine Attorney of the Year, Women Defenders Annual Award, and the ACLU’s Don Edwards Civil Liberties Award. She has also been recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the top 75 women litigators in California.
Co-Director: Todd H. Fries is a Co-Director of the VERITAS Initiative at the Santa Clara University School of Law and the Associate Director of the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP). His work on behalf of the VERITAS Initiative began in 2011, when he coordinated a multi-state research effort and national speaking tour focused on prosecutorial misconduct. As NCIP’s Associate Director, Mr. Fries is responsible for professional operation and management of NCIP. He joined NCIP in 2010 as a Research Attorney focusing on policy initiatives to help prevent wrongful conviction.
Prior to working at the VERITAS Initiative and NCIP, Mr. Fries worked as an Employment Litigation Associate at Paul Hastings LLP in Palo Alto and as an attorney at the Santa Clara County Superior Court Family Law Self-Help Office. He graduated cum laude from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2009 with a certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice after receiving a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles.
PUBLICATIONS
PROSECUTORIAL OVERSIGHT: A NATIONAL DIALOGUE IN THE WAKE OF CONNICK V. THOMPSON
On the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Connick v. Thompson, which granted prosecutors broad immunity for their misconduct, the VERITAS Initiative and a coalition of innocence organizations released, Prosecutorial Oversight: A National Dialogue in the Wake of Connick v. Thompson, calling for greater transparency and accountability for prosecutors. Although prosecutors have long argued that there are sufficient systems in place to guard against misconduct, the VERITAS initiative reviewed court findings of misconduct over a five-year period for five states, documenting 660 findings of misconduct – a likely undercount given the difficulties in identifying this behavior. Of these cases, we know of only one prosecutor who was disciplined for his misconduct, and that took a change of law by the Texas Legislature. The report, which was produced in conjunction with forums featuring a broad array of criminal justice stakeholders in the five states surveyed, provides a list of recommendations that states should pursue to increase prosecutorial transparency and accountability.
Prosecutorial Oversight: A National Dialogue in the Wake of Connick v. Thompson
Press Release: Prosecutorial Oversight
Prosecutorial Oversight Tour Launch Event at National Press Club, Washington DC
October 27, 2011
MATERIAL INDIFFERENCE: HOW COURTS ARE IMPEDING FAIR DISCLOSURE IN CRIMINAL CASES
In courtrooms across the nation, accused persons are convicted without ever having seen information that was favorable to their defense. The frequency with which this occurs and the role it plays in wrongful convictions prompted NACDL and the VERITAS Initiative to undertake an unprecedented study of Brady claims litigated in federal courts over a five-year period. The Study asked: What role does judicial review play in the disclosure of favorable information to accused? The results revealed a troubling answer—the judiciary is impeding fair disclosure in criminal cases and, in doing so, encouraging prosecutors to disclose as little favorable information as possible.
Material Indifference Executive Summary
Press Release: Material Indifference
Material Indifference Launch Event at National Press Club, Washington, DC
November 17, 2014
PREVENTABLE ERROR: A REPORT ON PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT IN CALIFORNIA 1997-2009
A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 1997–2009 is the most comprehensive, up-to-date, quantitative and actionable study on the extent of prosecutorial misconduct in California, how the justice system identifies and addresses it, and its cost and consequences, including the wrongful conviction of innocent people. By shining a light on prosecutorial conduct, this groundbreaking research, the work of leading experts in the field will serve as a catalyst for reform.
Preventable Error Executive Summary
Preventable Error: A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 1997–2009
First Annual Report: Preventable Error – Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 2010
Second Annual Report: Preventable Error – Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 2011
Press Release: Preventable Error
California Bar reviewing 130 prosecutors for possible disciplinary action
San Jose Mercury News, October 18, 2010
By Tracey Kaplan
CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON THE FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE (CCFAJ)
The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice was created by Senate Resolution No. 44 of the 2003-04 Session of the California State Senate, adopted on August 27, 2004. The mandate of the Commission was:
- To study and review the administration of criminal justice in California to determine the extent to which that process has failed in the past, resulting in wrongful executions or the wrongful conviction of innocent persons.
- To examine ways of providing safeguards and making improvements in the way the criminal justice system functions.
- To make any recommendations and proposals designed to further ensure that the application and administration of criminal justice in California is just, fair, and accurate; and be it further
The VERITAS Initiative was built upon the work of Professor Ridolfi done on behalf of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (CCFAJ). As a CCFAJ commissioner, Professor Ridolfi conducted a 10-year study of prosecutorial misconduct in California focusing on the years 1997-2006. This work served as a precursor to “Preventable Error”, published in 2010, which was co-authored by Professor Ridolfi and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Maurice Possley.
OP EDS
Withholding evidence: Exoneration 36 years late shows the peril
San Jose Mercury News, September 11, 2014
By Cookie Ridolfi and Todd Fries
Maurice Possley and Kathleen ‘Cookie’ Ridolfi:
Attorneys and judges need to report misconduct cases to the California Bar Association
San Jose Mercury News, October 5, 2011
By Cookie Ridolfi and Maurice Possley
Opinion: Defendants exonerated, but off-base prosecutors pay no price
San Jose Mercury News, March 3, 2011
By Cookie Ridolfi and Maurice Possley
The Prosecution Rests, But I Can’t
New York Times, April 9, 2011
By John Thompson
Opinion: Prosecutor misconduct has a high public cost
San Jose Mercury News, December 11, 2009
By Cookie Ridolfi and Maurice Possley
CONTACT
RESOURCES
California Rules of Professional Conduct
Link to California Code of Judicial Ethics