Associate Clinical Professor of Law and
Judy and Steve Page Executive Director, Loyola Project for the Innocent
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Education
- BA, magna cum laude, St. Mary's University
- JD, magna cum laude, University of San Francisco
Background
Joseph A. Trigilio, a longtime adjunct professor at LMU Loyola Law School, has joined Loyola’s Project for the Innocent (LPI) as the Judy and Steve Page Executive Director. Trigilio comes to LPI from the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California; his most recent post was as Supervising Deputy Federal Public Defender.
Joe Trigilio is a familiar presence at the law school, where he has served as an adjunct professor teaching the habeas corpus litigation seminar. He has also been an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School, where he co-teaches a Wrongful Conviction class with LPI’s own Adam Grant ‘10.
“I am thrilled to be leading the incredible attorneys, students, and staff who make up Loyola’s Project for the Innocent,” said Trigilio. “Our mission will be to give the highest quality of representation to wrongly convicted people who are too often ignored, and we’ll do it by empowering our students to expose wrongful convictions by acknowledging the inherent dignity in everyone impacted by our criminal justice system.”
In his role at the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Trigilio represented capital and non‐capital inmates in their federal habeas corpus and ancillary proceedings, including state post-conviction litigation. His practice has covered a wide swath of jurisdictions: His clients have included a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, as well as death-sentenced inmates challenging their convictions in California and Texas state courts, the California Courts of Appeal and Supreme Court, federal district courts, the Ninth and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. His federal trial work has included the representation of defendants charged with federal crimes, including a jury trial for crimes eligible for the federal death penalty.
Through his affiliation with LPI since 2012, Trigilio has supervised students and overseen the investigation of cases that involved claims of actual innocence and fundamental constitutional violations. He has also taught clinical classes on concepts such as prejudice, prosecutorial misconduct, motion drafting, implicit bias, race discrimination, and fact investigation.
“Joe is the perfect choice, and I couldn’t be happier. We are so lucky to have him leading our amazing team. With Joe at the helm, LPI will have even more success in helping the many deserving people still waiting for justice,” said Professor Laurie Levenson, LPI’s Founding Director. “Joe has it all: He is great working with students, clients, prosecutors and the courts.”
Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Trigilio was a staff attorney at the Habeas Corpus Resource Center in San Francisco. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of San Francisco. His extensive post-conviction work has included lecturing at the Federal Defender Capital Habeas Unit National Conference, Loyola Law School’s Fidler Institute on Criminal Justice, and countless other training seminars and panels.