Conviction Integrity Unit

The Napa County District Attorney’s Office is proud to announce the formation of the Conviction Integrity Unity (CIU). This CIU reviews and investigates claims of innocence raised after a criminal conviction in cases of homicides, sex offenses and violent crimes, where the defendant is still serving a prison sentence. The CIU may examine claims of innocence in other types of cases if a significant prison commitment or collateral consequence indicates that an examination of the case is warranted.

The Unit

The CIU consists of the Assistant District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney and District Attorney Investigator. No attorney or investigator involved in the initial investigation or prosecution of a case submitted for review will be involved in the review process.

All Post-Conviction claims of actual innocence, regardless of the form of the raised claim, shall be forwarded to the assigned Deputy District Attorney for review. The claim will be documented in our case management system, Napa County Criminal Justice Network. You may submit a claim of innocence, the following ways:

1. Complete/Submit the online CIU Request Form

2. Download/Complete the CIU Request Form and email it to [email protected] or mail it to Napa County District Attorney’s Office, Attn: Conviction Integrity Unit, 1127 First Street, Suite C, Napa, CA 94559

Investigation

The Deputy District Attorney shall review each claim to determine whether any further action or investigation is warranted. If after conducting the initial review a determination is made that the claim does not warrant further investigation, the Deputy District Attorney shall notify the defendant (or requesting party) and any known counsel that no further action will be taken on the claim. If the claim does raise the issue of actual innocence, the case will be assigned for further investigation. The District Attorney Investigator will be given the case to investigate.

Conclusion

At the conclusion of the investigation, the Deputy District Attorney shall determine whether all avenues of inquiry have been exhausted and whether based on the investigation there is a plausible claim of innocence. The existence of a reasonable doubt does not necessarily result in a conclusion that the defendant is actually innocent, the conclusion must be that there is clear and convincing evidence that there exists a plausible claim of actual innocence in the case.

The recommendation of the Deputy District Attorney shall be forwarded to the Assistant District Attorney and District Attorney. If the District Attorney concludes that a defendant is actually innocent, then our office will rectify the case by dismissal, plea withdrawal or other appropriate remedy.