Earlier this week Sandee Magliozzi, Executive Director of the Northern California Innocence Project, sent out the following notification detailing a recent victory for NCIP…
Dear Friends,
We wanted to share some great news with you: yesterday afternoon the Tehama County Superior Court overturned the wrongful conviction of NCIP client Larry Pohlschneider, 46, after nearly 15 years of wrongful imprisonment! Mr. Pohlschneider’s attorneys and the Tehama County District Attorney agreed that his 2000 conviction should be vacated and the charges dismissed due to the ineffective assistance of Mr. Pohlschneider’s trial counsel.
NCIP Assistant Legal Director Maitreya Badami, Mr.
Pohlschneider’s lead attorney, commended the Tehama County District Attorney’s Office for its willingness to look at this case with fresh eyes when presented with evidence from NCIP’s investigation. “Without the District Attorney’s fairness and cooperation, Mr. Pohlschneider’s unjust incarceration might have been even more prolonged,” explained Ms. Badami. “The failure of Mr. Pohlschneider’s trial attorney to investigate and challenge the medical evidence resulted in an untrustworthy verdict and his wrongful imprisonment.”
Larry Pohlschneider and legal team
From left: NCIP Legal Director Linda Starr, NCIP Assistant Legal Director Maitreya Badami, Larry Pohlschneider, and NCIP volunteer attorney Thom Seaton beam after a Tehama County Superior Court judge overturns Mr. Pohlschneider’s conviction. Photo: Audrey Redmond.
“Today marks the first step toward freedom and complete vindication for Mr. Pohlschneider,” said NCIP volunteer attorney Thom Seaton. “An innocent man was pulled into a child-molestation case because of junk science which led police wrongly to focus on him as an additional perpetrator — despite the fact that the true, sole perpetrator, Albert Harris, had been charged, confessed, and ultimately pled guilty to the crime.”“Tragically, junk science passing as expert testimony is a contributing factor in 22 percent of wrongful convictions and NCIP is actively working to free innocent people and establish policies to prevent wrongful convictions like Larry’s,” said NCIP Legal Director Linda Starr.
The court ordered Mr. Pohlschneider’s release, and his discharge from Tehama County Jail is expected imminently.
It is because of your support that together we are able to celebrate this victory. We look forward to telling you soon that Larry has been released!
Sincerely,
Sandee MagliozziSandra “Sandee” Magliozzi, Esq.
Interim Executive Director, NCIP
Associate Dean of Experiential Learning, Santa Clara University School of Law
From left: NCIP Legal Director Linda Starr, NCIP Assistant Legal Director Maitreya Badami, Larry Pohlschneider, and NCIP volunteer attorney Thom Seaton beam after a Tehama County Superior Court judge overturns Mr. Pohlschneider’s conviction. Photo: Audrey Redmond.
Congratulations to Mr. Pohlshcneider and the NCIP!
Wrongful Convictions Blog 
Reblogged this on FORENSICS in FOCUS @ CSIDDS | News and Trends and commented:
Northern California Innocence Project litigators consider this wrongful conviction another case of junk science assisted prosecution.
““Tragically, junk science passing as expert testimony is a contributing factor in 22 percent of wrongful convictions and NCIP is actively working to free innocent people and establish policies to prevent wrongful convictions like Larry’s,” said NCIP Legal Director Linda Starr.