Past Events

June 16, 2022
“A Crime on the Bayou” Screening & Q&A
As part of the Achieving Racial Justice series, and in commemoration of Juneteenth, the Quattrone Center and the Penn Carey Law Office of Equity & Inclusion present a screening of A Crime on the Bayou, a film by Nancy Buirski, followed by a Q&A featuring Gary Duncan (petitioner in the U.S. Supreme Court case Duncan v. Louisiana) and producer Brenda Robinson L ’03, moderated by Paul Heaton, Academic Director of the Quattrone Center. Register here

April 21, 2022
Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System
Join the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice for a book talk with author Chris Fabricant, Innocence Project’s Director of Strategic Litigation joined by Marissa Bluestine, Assistant Director of the Quattrone Center and Maria Cuellar, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Assistant Professor of Statistics and Data Science at the University of Pennsylvania. From CSI to forensic files to the celebrated reputation of the FBI crime lab, forensic scientists have long been mythologized in American popular culture as infallible crime solvers. Juries put their faith in “expert witnesses” and innocent people have been executed as a result. Innocent people are on death row today, condemned by junk science. Lunch will be served. This event is open to University of Pennsylvania faculty, staff and students. Penn Law requires attendees to show a green PennOpen Pass and Penn ID when entering the building.
November 16, 2021
Interrogating Without Coercion: How police and policymakers are reforming interrogations to eliminate coercion and prevent false confessions
Coerced confessions are a blight on the criminal justice system. Coercive and unskilled police interrogations focused on obtaining a confession often lead to false confessions and fail to uncover reliable information. Watch the recording here.

October 13, 2021
How Judges Can Make a Difference in the Success of Supervised Release
This moderated discussion will feature Judge Richard M. Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Judge L. Felipe Restrepo of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The session will be moderated by Professor Cary Coglianese, Director of the Penn Program on Regulation. Watch the recording here.
Appearances
Preventing Criminal Justice Errors to Restore Community Trust
In this virtual event convened by PA Senator Maria Collett and PA Senator Anthony Williams as a part of their Racial Equity Tour, Quattrone Center Executive Director John Hollway describes legislation that could be enacted to improve criminal justice accountability and prevent errors.
Preventing Citizen Harms and Improving Accountability Through Event Reviews
In testimony for the Joint Hearings of the Pennsylvania Senate Law and Justice Committee and Judiciary Committee on “Ensuring Accountability and Equality in Law Enforcement and the Criminal Justice System”, Quattrone Center Academic Director Paul Heaton describes the role event reviews can play in creating police accountability.
Research Fellow Testifies at Meeting of Philadelphia Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform
Quattrone Center Research Fellow Megan Stevenson testified on bail reform movements across the country and their lessons for Philadelphia before the Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform in Philadelphia on March 24.
Quattrone Center Directors Discuss Bail Reform, Forensic Science
Paul Heaton and John Hollway participated as presenters at the 12th Annual Harry Frank Guggeheim Symposium on Crime in America hosted by the Center on Media, Crime, and Justice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Heaton addressed the Quattrone Center’s recent work on bail reform, while Hollway discussed improving public understanding of forensic science.
Quattrone Center Bail Research Presented at Conference on Empirical Legal Studies
Paul Heaton, Academic Director of the Quattrone Center, presented his work with Research Fellows Sandy Mayson and Megan Stevenson on the impacts of pretrial detention in misdemeanor cases at the 11th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS) held at Duke Law School.
Quattrone Center Affiliates Speak on Police Accountability
Quattrone Center Executive Director John Hollway and faculty affiliate David Rudovsky appeared as panelists at the 2016 Villanova Law Review Normal J. Shachoy Symposium on “Exploring Police Accountability in America”.
Executive Director Speaks on Innocence Cases
Quattrone Center Executive Director John Hollway moderated a panel on litigating innocence cases from the prosecutor’s perspective at the University of Baltimore School of Law conference From Bloodsworth to Today: Wrongful Convictions in Maryland.
Academic Director Testifies at Meeting of Philadelphia Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform
Quattrone Center Academic Director Paul Heaton testified on the Center’s recent research on the effects of pretrial detention before the Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform in Philadelphia on Sept. 12. Penn Criminology Professor Richard Berk also provided testimony on pretrial risk assessment at the session. Link to slides
Executive Director Presents at Meeting of the Center for American and International Law
Quattrone Center Executive Director John Hollway presented on the Center’s work on root cause analysis and sentinel event reviews as part of the annual program meeting of the Center for American and International Law held in Plano, TX. He also led a panel discussing conviction integrity units.
Quattrone Center Participates in NBER Economics of Crime Meeting
Quattrone Fellow Megan Stevenson presented her recent work on the effects of bail at the Economics of Crime working group meeting held as part of the National Bureau of Economic Research Summer Institute in Cambridge, MA
Executive Director Addresses Philadelphia Criminal Justice Reform Committee
John Hollway, Executive Director of the Quattrone Center, was invited to give a presentation at the April 15 meeting of the Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform convened by the Philadelphia City Council. The committee, of which Hollway is a member, includes a diverse set of representatives from the judiciary, prosecution and defense bar, community organizations, and research community and is tasked with reforming Philadelphia’s criminal justice system to reduce costs and lower corrections populations while ensuring fairness and maintaining public safety. John spoke about the systems approach and how it can be used to address the unique criminal justice challenges that exist in Philadelphia.
Executive Director Discusses Conviction Integrity with the Innocence Network
John Hollway, Executive Director of the Quattrone Center, was one of the featured speakers at the 2016 Innocence Network Annual Conference, a gathering of practitioners, exonerees, researchers, and advocates involved in the innocence movement. John discussed the systems approach and the Center’s recent work on conviction integrity.