Dr Michael Naughton

Personal profile

Dr Michael Naughton is a Reader in Sociology and Law with joint appointments in the Law School and the Department of Sociology. He obtained his BSc (Hons) in Sociology (First Class) and PhD from the University of Bristol. His doctoral thesis was entitled: 'Miscarriages of Justice: Exception to the Rule?'. In 2003, he was an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Sociology, University of Bristol. He was appointed as a Lecturer at Bristol in 2004, progressed to Senior Lecturer in 2007 and was promoted to a Readership in 2012. 

Michael specialises in the area of miscarriages of justice with a focus on claims of factual innocence by alleged victims of wrongful conviction and imprisonment. He is the author of Rethinking Miscarriages of Justice: Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg (2007, Palgrave Macmillan) and Claims of Innocence: An Introduction to Wrongful Convictions and How they Might be Challenged (2011, University of Bristol) (with Gabe Tan). He is the editor of The Criminal Cases Review Commission: Hope for the Innocent? (2009, Palgrave Macmillan). His most recent book is entitled The Innocent and the Criminal Justice System: A Sociological Analysis of Miscarriages of Justice (2013, Palgrave Macmillan).

In addition to these books, Michael has published many articles in leading national and international law, sociology, evidence, criminology and penology peer-reviewed journals, which stand as evidence his interdisciplinary credentials. These include British Journal of Criminology, Critical Social Policy, International Journal of Evidence and Proof, Prison Service Journal, Criminal Law Quarterly, Critical Criminology: An International Journal, Web Journal of Current Legal Issues and the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice.

On a practical level, Michael is the Founder and Director of the Innocence Network UK (INUK), the umbrella organisation for member innocence projects in UK universities, which he established at the University of Bristol in September 2004. Michael is also the Founder and Director of the University of Bristol Innocence Project (UoBIP). Deriving from the United States, an innocence project typically sees a group of students investigating the case of a convicted person maintaining factual innocence who has exhausted the initial appeals process and available legal aid. Innocence projects work under close academic supervision and, where appropriate, with legal assistance from practising lawyers and forensic scientists. Crucially all innocence project work is conducted on a pro bono basis - free for public good. INUK currently (May 2013) has 26 member innocence projects in UK universities and one in an international corporate law firm. Together, INUK's member innocence projects are investigating just over 100 cases of alleged wrongful convictions.

Michael regularly appears in the media in relation to wrongful conviction issues.

Teaching

Michael teaches across the Law School and the Department of Sociology in the general area of crime, justice and society and in his specialist area of miscarriages of justice.

• A Sociology of Crime and Justice - SOCI30047 (U/G Sociology - Unit Coordinator)
• Crime Justice and Society - LAWD20034 (U/G Law - Unit Coordinator)
• Miscarriages of Justice - LAWDM0073 (P/G Law - Unit Coordinator)

Michael welcomes proposals for doctoral supervision in the general area of crime and justice and especially research associated with any aspect of miscarriages of justice and the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of the innocent.

Full publications list in the University of Bristol publications system