California Forensic Science Institute

The California Forensic Science Institute (CFSI) at California State University, Los Angeles, is committed to advancing the forensic sciences through a multidisciplinary program focusing on research development, professional training, student support, and community engagement. We are dedicated to upholding the highest professional, scientific, and academic standards in our service to the University, forensic science profession, and justice community.

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Students in forensic lab testing samples

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New Partnership

Paula Mitchell, director of the Los Angeles Innocence Project at Cal State LA, speaks during a news conference on Aug. 19

California Forensic Science Institute and School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics new partnership

A team of experienced post-conviction attorneys is establishing the Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP) at Cal State LA, bringing the fight to free the wrongfully convicted to the university. Through the new partnership, the litigators will work alongside faculty and students in the university’s California Forensic Science Institute and School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics to identify and investigate cases of individuals with credible claims of actual innocence, and to litigate those claims where new evidence supports overturning a conviction.

Read about the partnership

Learn about the project

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In the News

Maurice Hastings, who was freed from prison after serving 38 years for a wrongful conviction, speaks during a news conference at

Wrongfully convicted client of Los Angeles Innocence Project at Cal State LA freed after 38 years

Maurice Hastings, a 69-year-old man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 38 years, was freed after new DNA test results presented by the Los Angeles Innocence Project at Cal State LA pointed conclusively to another suspect.

Read about the case