Jackie McMurtrie is a Professor Emerita of the University of Washington School of Law. Before joining the faculty, she worked as a public defender in King County, representing individuals facing criminal charges, as well as parents and children in juvenile dependency proceedings. When she first joined UW Law, Jackie taught a Criminal Law Clinic, supervising law students representing clients on misdemeanor charges. In 1997, inspired by stories of the wrongly convicted, Jackie founded the Washington Innocence Project (formerly Innocence Project Northwest) – the nation's third innocence organization. She served as the organization’s Director for decades, leading its growth from its roots as a volunteer effort to a law school clinic and finally to a non-profit organization. During this time, Jackie successfully advocated for wrongly incarcerated individuals to obtain their freedom and worked towards improving the criminal legal system. Through her clinical law teaching, Jackie mentored a generation of public interest lawyers. She is also a founding member of the Innocence Network, which has grown to include 67 innocence organizations from all over the world.

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Jackie currently serves as Of Counsel to the Washington Innocence Project. She is enjoying the benefits of retirement, including spending time with family and friends, gardening, cooking and reading.