Jennifer L. Givens

Jennifer L. Givens serves as Clinical Professor and Director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law. She joined the clinic in 2015 after working as an assistant federal defender in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and as a senior staff attorney with the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center.

Professor Givens specializes in criminal defense with particular expertise in capital punishment cases and wrongful convictions. Her practice involves representing death-sentenced inmates in state and federal post-conviction proceedings, with notable successes including securing clemency for a severely mentally ill client and obtaining a life sentence (instead of death) for an intellectually disabled client. She has argued cases before state trial courts and U.S. district courts in Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as the Virginia Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Her scholarly work focuses on criminal justice reform, particularly regarding police accountability and innocence projects. Professor Givens has published articles examining transparency laws, evidence disclosure practices, and systemic reforms needed to prevent wrongful convictions. She is frequently cited in media coverage of innocence cases, including the 2022 Virginia governor's pardon of Lamar Edward Barnes.

Professor Givens is a member of the Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia bars. She previously served as an adjunct professor at Temple University School of Law and regularly speaks at local and national capital habeas corpus trainings and conferences.