Joseph Trigilio
Executive Director
Joseph Trigilio, a longtime adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, joined Loyola’s Project for the Innocent (LPI) as the Judy and Steve Page Executive Director. Since 2012, he has supervised students and overseen the investigation of cases that involved claims of actual innocence and fundamental constitutional violations. Mr. Trigilio has also taught clinical classes on concepts such as prejudice, prosecutorial misconduct, motion drafting, implicit bias, race discrimination, and fact investigation. Mr. Trigilio came 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. In his role at the Federal Public Defender’s Office, he 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. Mr. Trigilio’s 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. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Mr. 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. Mr. Trigilio earned his BA, magna cum laude, from St. Mary’s University.
