The Gail Anderson Cañizares Innocence Clinic announced that it has hired Marc Kalani as Investigations Supervisor.
Kalani, working in close collaboration with Clinic Director Anne-Marie Moyes, will develop and execute investigative strategies across active and prospective cases, guiding students through the case-screening and case-development process. He previously volunteered in a similar capacity at the clinic during the Spring 2026 semester.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Marc as our new Investigations Supervisor,” said Moyes. “Rigorous investigation is the cornerstone of innocence work. It takes doggedness and creativity to uncover evidence that exonerates. Marc brings a journalist’s investigative instincts and direct experience with innocence projects. We’re confident that he’ll strengthen our investigations and inspire our students.”
Before joining the clinic, Kalani worked in post-conviction and wrongful-conviction investigation for several years, including as a staff investigator at the Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender and Innocence Project New Orleans. He has also worked on innocence cases in New York and Connecticut. He previously worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and as a radio journalist at NPR and the BBC, focusing primarily on issues of war and conflict.
“I came to innocence work after years in journalism, and the through line has always been the same: the rigorous pursuit of the truth,” Kalani said. “What I’m most looking forward to at Vanderbilt Law School is doing that alongside students—helping them develop the judgment and investigative skills these cases require, as we undertake the slow, patient work of seeking justice for people who have been wrongfully convicted here in Tennessee.”
Students in the Gail Anderson Cañizares Innocence Clinic represent individuals who have been wrongfully convicted in Tennessee of crimes they did not commit. Work initially consists of trial and appellate case review. Once the clinic accepts a case for representation, students handle each aspect of the work, from developing investigation plans and drafting motions for post-conviction relief to participating in evidentiary hearings.
Launched in Spring 2026 as a semester-long course, the clinic will convert to its intended year-long format in Fall 2026. Clinic students must also enroll in the course Actual Innocence if they have not taken it previously.