CPCS Innocence Program
75 Federal Street, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
Phone: 617-209-5666
OUR TEAM
Program Director
Lisa M. Kavanaugh, Send Email
In her capacity as Director of the Innocence Program, Lisa Kavanaugh evaluates and litigates potentially meritorious Massachusetts innocence claims and provides litigation support and oversight of funding for the investigation and expert resources needed to successfully litigate these claims. She is also actively involved in developing statewide training programs on forensic evidence. In 2013, she formed a Working Group of criminal justice leaders that is focused on improving access to post-conviction DNA analysis and secured federal funding to support this work. Ms. Kavanaugh first joined CPCS in 2002 as a staff attorney in the Somerville Superior Court trial unit. From 2007-2009, she worked in the Appeals Unit and litigated numerous felony appeals. She is a 1996 graduate of Yale University and a 2000 graduate of Harvard Law School. From 2000-2002, she served as a Prettyman Clinical Teaching Fellow with the Criminal Justice Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center. A frequent lecturer at MCLE and CPCS training programs, she has also served as an Adjunct Professor with the Innocence Clinic at Boston College Law School and a Visiting Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. She presently serves on the Forensic Science Oversight Board and is the Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association Task Force on Conviction Integrity. She also serves on the board of the New England Innocence Project.
Staff Counsel
Jill Tessier, Send Email
Jill Tessier joined the Innocence Program in 2021, after eleven years of criminal trial practice in the CPCS Public Defender Division, primarily in Superior Court. As the Innocence Program staff counsel, Jill reviews and litigates innocence claims in Massachusetts trial and appellate courts. She also oversees all assignments of counsel to litigate post-conviction motions for forensic analysis under Chapter 278A, as well as supervises, advises, trains, and serves as co-counsel with post-conviction panel attorneys who are appointed to handle state innocence cases. Jill received her J.D. in 2009 from the University of New Hampshire School of Law, and her B.A. in Art History, magna cum laude, from the Commonwealth College Honors Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2006. While in law school, Jill was a Public Interest Coalition Fellow and recipient of the Douglas J. Wood Chairman’s Scholarship. Jill also completed internships at the Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Tennessee, the Metropolitan Davidson County Public Defender in Nashville, TN, and served as a law student volunteer for the New England Innocence Project.
Staff Counsel Rotation
Libby Hugetz, Send Email
Elizabeth (“Libby”) Hugetz joined the Innocence Program in 2021 for a grant-funded litigation rotation, and in 2024 she was hired as the unit’s second full time staff counsel. In her current position, she oversees the unit’s groundbreaking data project and statewide hair review, reviews new applications and litigates innocence cases. She also serves as the liaison with our grant partner at the Boston College Innocence Program. Attorney Hugetz first joined CPCS in 2012 as a trial attorney in the Lowell District Court Trial Unit. She later moved to the Lowell Superior Court Unit where she remained prior to her rotation with the Innocence Program. Attorney Hugetz earned a J.D. from Boston University School of Law (2012) and a M.A. from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (2012). She has contributed to several publications, and presented at continuing legal education programs across the Commonwealth. Attorney Hugetz currently sits on the board of the Greater Lowell Bar Association.
Lead Investigator
Rob Selevitch, Send Email
Rob Selevitch first joined CPCS as a staff investigator in the Somerville Superior Court office in 2009, and he has served as a regional supervisor for Public Defender Division investigators in Middlesex and Essex Counties since 2011. In December 2015, he was hired to serve as the Lead Innocence Program Investigator (IPI), a position created with federal grant funding from the Wrongful Conviction Review Program. In his capacity as Lead IPI, Rob works closely with attorneys to develop comprehensive and thoughtful investigation plans. He has investigated over a dozen innocence cases from around the state, working with both in-house and panel post-conviction attorneys.
Paralegal
Halle Love, Send Email
As the Innocence Program Support Paralegal, Halle Love oversees the workflow of intakes, screenings, and assignments and assists with preliminary case review of new applications for assistance. She serves as the liaison between IP staff, applicants, clients, panel attorneys, investigators, and other program partners and manages data collection for grant progress reports.
Administrative Assistant III
Paola Reyes, Send Email
As the Innocence Program Support Administrative Assistant III, Paola Reyes works in close coordination with Halle Love to oversee the workflow of intakes, screenings, and counsel assignments. She also plays an integral role in several of the unit’s special projects, including the pilot investigation project and the pilot trial co-counsel project.
Post-graduate Legal Fellows
The Innocence Program currently has two full time post-graduate legal fellows, Clare Enright, a 2023 graduate of Boston College Law School, and Tori Staley, a 2023 graduate of Cornell Law School.