Judy Tracy is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Law School. She retired in June, 2017 from the faculty of Boston College Law School, where she taught for over 20 years. Prior to joining the BC faculty, she was in private practice, served with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in Chicago and Boston, was a Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe College, and was an Associate General Counsel at the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine.
As she approached retirement, Judy became interested in the innocence movement and informally began learning more about it. In the fall of 2017, she audited the course, Wrongful Convictions, taught by her BC colleague Sharon Beckman. The subject matter, the range of issues in these cases, and the critical need for more legal representation for those claiming innocence was compelling, and Judy decided to volunteer in the 2018 winter/spring semester in the Boston College Innocence Program (BCIP) Clinic. The Clinic is part of BCIP, in which students study erroneous convictions and work to remedy or prevent such injustices.
Judy found the work both challenging and gratifying. She was one of three members of the clinic team assigned to a new case. After initial screening and acceptance for review, they read everything that was available in the case. Judy will continue to work on this case with clinic students and staff, as well as outside counsel, to determine and implement next steps on behalf of this individual, and participate in other program activities.