Contact Information

Biography

Professor John Rago is a recognized scholar and policy leader whose work in criminal justice centers on conviction integrity, evidence-based reform, and collaborative policymaking. His scholarship and public service focus on developing scientifically grounded best practices that strengthen the fairness, accuracy, and reliability of criminal investigations and prosecutions. Guided by the principle that the pursuit of truth is both difficult and essential, Professor Rago's work seeks to advance policies that equally protect the interests of law enforcement, crime victims, and the accused, while promoting public confidence in the administration of justice.

Professor Rago has played a leading role in advancing criminal justice reform throughout Pennsylvania. Pursuant to Pennsylvania Senate Resolution 381, authored by the late Senator Stewart Greenleaf, then-Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was appointed by Senator Greenleaf and the Joint State Government Commission to chair a 51-member statewide Advisory Commission charged with conducting the Commonwealth's first comprehensive study of wrongful convictions. Under his leadership, the Commission produced the Report of the Advisory Commission on Wrongful Convictions, a landmark publication widely recognized for its depth of analysis and practical recommendations. The report was praised by the New York Innocence Project for its comprehensive approach and has served as the foundation for numerous legislative reforms and evidence-based best practices adopted by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA) and law enforcement agencies across the Commonwealth. Professor Rago continues to advise policymakers, prosecutors, defense organizations, and law enforcement agencies on conviction integrity, prosecutorial practices, police procedures, and post-conviction claims of actual innocence. The report is available through the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission.

Throughout his career, Professor Rago has worked closely with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., district attorneys across Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, members of the judiciary, state policymakers, law enforcement agencies, indigent defense organizations, victims groups, and innocence advocates to improve the integrity of the criminal justice system. Through these collaborations, he has helped to develop and implement model policies in areas including evidence-based eyewitness identification procedures, electronic recording of custodial interrogations, and other investigative best practices that have influenced criminal justice policy throughout the Commonwealth.

Professor Rago also played a significant role in the collaborative efforts that culminated in the enactment of Pennsylvania's comprehensive police body-worn camera legislation. His work with prosecutors, law enforcement officials, legislators, and community stakeholders contributed to the passage of Senate Bill 560, which became Act 22 of 2017 and established the legal framework governing the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers throughout Pennsylvania.

His current work continues to focus on innovative criminal justice initiatives in partnership with Allegheny County stakeholders. These efforts include the development of holistic indigent defense models, diversion programs for nonviolent offenders and justice-involved individuals with intellectual disabilities or mental illness, criminal statutory reform, and expanded collaboration among criminal justice agencies, public health providers, and human services organizations to improve outcomes while enhancing public safety.

Professor Rago has served in numerous statewide leadership and advisory roles. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Committee on Standard Criminal Jury Instructions and serves on the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, having been appointed by former Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor and reappointed by Chief Justice Debra Todd. He also serves as Special Counsel to the Allegheny County Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB), advising the Board's co-chairs—the President Judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and the Allegheny County Executive—on criminal justice policy, strategic planning, and best practices. The CJAB includes approximately thirty-five leaders representing every major component of Allegheny County's criminal justice system.

Most recently, Professor Rago was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf and reappointed by Governor Josh Shapiro to serve as one of two Reporters for Pennsylvania's Parolee Homicide Review Team. Established under Act 115 of 2019 by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, the Review Team examines homicides committed by individuals under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. The Committee investigates the circumstances surrounding these offenses, evaluates existing supervision practices, training, and policies, identifies systemic gaps, and recommends reforms designed to strengthen public safety and reduce future violent crime.

In addition to his criminal justice leadership, Professor Rago serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Center for Victims, Pennsylvania's largest comprehensive provider of victim services. He also serves on the Governance Board of Members of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1996 by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Mark Featherstone-Witty, OBE, LIPA is one of the world's leading performing performing arts universities, educating students from more than fifty countries through internationally recognized degree programs. Both McCartney and Featherstone-Witty remain actively involved in this world-class institution.

Through his scholarship, public service, and collaborative leadership, Professor Rago has become one of Pennsylvania's foremost authorities on conviction integrity and criminal justice reform. His work has helped shape statewide legislation, informed judicial and prosecutorial policy, strengthened law enforcement practices, and advanced reforms designed to improve both the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

Education

  • J.D., Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
  • B.A., Duquesne University

 

 

School

Fall:
  • Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure: Fundamentals
  • Functions and Duties of the Prosecution
  • Veterans Clinic

Spring:
  • Criminal Procedure: Fundamentals
  • Law, Public Service and the Executive Branch
  • Veterans Clinic
  • Wrongful Convictions

In addition, Professor Rago teaches courses/seminars in the Bayer School Forensic Science and Law graduate program: Philosophy and Ethics in Science and Law, Wrongful Convictions, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, and Introduction to Forensic Science and Law (team taught with Dr. Fred Fochtman).

  • Death Row Exonerations & Conviction Integrity
    John Rago, Death Row Exonerations & Conviction Integrity, in The Death Penalty: A Reference Handbook 165-168 (Joseph A. Melusky and Keith A. Pesto, 2017).
  • A Fine Line between Chaos & Creation: Lessons on Innocence Reform from the Pennsylvania Eight
    John Rago, A Fine Line between Chaos & Creation: Lessons on Innocence Reform from the Pennsylvania Eight,12 Widener L. Rev. 359 (2005-2006).
  • Truth or Consequences and Post-Conviction DNA Testing: Have You Reached Your Verdict
    John Rago, Truth or Consequences and Post-Conviction DNA Testing: Have You Reached Your Verdict,107 Dick. L. Rev. 845 (2002-2003).
  • Act 22 of 2017: Implications for Law Enforcement and the Courts. Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges
    John Rago, Act 22 of 2017: Implications for Law Enforcement and the Courts. Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, presentation at Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) Judicial Education Committee Annual Meeting (July 25-28, 2019).
  • Act 22 of 2017 (Police Body Cameras, Wiretap Reform and Right to Know Applications)
    John Rago, Act 22 of 2017 (Police Body Cameras, Wiretap Reform and Right to Know Applications) The Pennsylvania Justice Network and Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Conference, State College, Pa.
    (Dec. 12, 2018).
  • In Trouble With the Law and the Role of Community: The Veterans Court
    John Rago and Daniel Kunz, In Trouble With the Law and the Role of Community: The Veterans Court, panel discussion at Moral injury and the Role of Community in the Veteran's Transformation and Homecoming (November 2, 2018).
  • Sustaining Public Confidence in Pennsylvania Criminal Justice
    John Rago, Sustaining Public Confidence in Pennsylvania Criminal Justice, presentation at Carlow University (Oct. 22, 2018).
  • GPS Tracking, PFAs, and Domestic Violence
    John Rago, GPS Tracking, PFAs, and Domestic Violence, presentation at Saint Vincent College (October 12, 2018).
  • Act 22 of 2017: Implications for Law Enforcement and the Courts
    John Rago, Act 22 of 2017: Implications for Law Enforcement and the Courts, presentation at PCSTJ Annual Meeting (July 22-28, 2018).
  • From Chaos to Creation: A Look Behind the Curtain on the Flow of Policy-Making Powers Between Pennsylvania's Executive and Legislative Leaders
    John Rago, From Chaos to Creation: A Look Behind the Curtain on the Flow of Policy-Making Powers Between Pennsylvania's Executive and Legislative Leaders, presentation at 2016 The Fifth Colonial Frontier Legal Writing Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (December 3, 2016).
  • Pennsylvania Innocence Project's First Western Pennsylvania Case Reviews
    John Rago, Pennsylvania Innocence Project's First Western Pennsylvania Case Reviews, presentation at Reed Smith, LLP, Pittsburgh, PA (July 16, 2018).
  • Criminal Law Updates/Standard Criminal Jury Instruction
    John Rago, Criminal Law Updates/Standard Criminal Jury Instruction, presentation at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute 35th Annual Criminal Law Symposium, Harrisburg, PA (June 7-8, 2018).
  • Body-worn Cameras, Forensic Evidence and the Right to Know
    John Rago, Body-worn Cameras, Forensic Evidence and the Right to Know, presentation at The Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law Continuing Legal Education Program, Pittsburgh, Pa (2017).
  • Establishing Uniform Science-Based Best Practices for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors; Making the Case for Conviction Integrity
    John Rago, Establishing Uniform Science-Based Best Practices for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors; Making the Case for Conviction Integrity, presentation at Law Enforcement/Prosecutors Program (May 23, 2014).
  • Post-conviction Actual Innocence Claims within a Constitutional Framework
    John Rago, Post-conviction Actual Innocence Claims within a Constitutional Framework, presentation at Constitution Day, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (2014).
  • Memory Science and False Confessions: Science-Based Reforms in Pursuit of Conviction Integrity
    John Rago, Memory Science and False Confessions: Science-Based Reforms in Pursuit of Conviction Integrity, presentation at Westmoreland County Office of the District Attorney, Latrobe, PA (2014).
  • Conviction Integrity Initiatives for Allegheny County; A Model for Pennsylvania
    John Rago, Conviction Integrity Initiatives for Allegheny County; A Model for Pennsylvania, presentation at Annual Conference of the Allegheny League of Municipalities, Seven Spring, PA (2014).
  • Update on County Wide Efforts to create Uniform, Science-Based Methods on Eyewitness Examinations and Confessions and the Immediate Impact of the PA Supreme Court Decision in Commonwealth v. Walker
    John Rago, Update on County Wide Efforts to create Uniform, Science-Based Methods on Eyewitness Examinations and Confessions and the Immediate Impact of the PA Supreme Court Decision in Commonwealth v. Walker, presentation to County and City criminal justice executives and stakeholders (2014).
  • Developments in Post Conviction Actual Innocence Claims
    John Rago, Developments in Post Conviction Actual Innocence Claims, CLE at Capital Track CLE Presentation, Ohio State Bar Association (2014).
  • Pennsylvania Bar Institute Annual Criminal Justice Symposium
    The Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) provides continuing legal education (CLE) for lawyers in Pennsylvania. John Rago has been a speaker and contributor at numerous PBI's annual criminal justice gatherings on topics involving matters of Conviction Integrity.
  • Geneva College Program Presentation:  Pillars of Truth: Navigating Freedom with Integrity in the Shadows (2024). John Rago was the featured presenter in this program at Geneva College commemorating the lives of Karen L. Florence and Shon Owens for their impactful legacies in reforming criminal justice in Beaver County and Beaver Falls and for their efforts helping countless citizens to rehabilitate from difficulties and return to their families and communities.  The presentation focused on the need for an unwavering commitment to navigating freedom with integrity within the legal framework.
  • Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges (2025)
    John Rago presented a CJE for PCSTJ members on legislative and best practices updates.
  • Taylor & Francis Co-Editor Book Update  (2025)
    Recently, Co Editors John Rago, along with Dr. Pam Marshall and Project Coordinator, Ben Wecht, were invited by Taylor & Francis, the country’s largest  publisher of books dealing with the forensic sciences and legal medicine, to update a textbook we produced some 19 years  ago, Forensic Science and Law: Investigative Applications in Criminal, Civil, and Family Justice.
    Bearing the same main title along with the subtitle, 21st Century Advances and Challenges, the new book is intended to help students of forensic science and criminal justice get up to speed on both new scientific capabilities and our rapidly changing social landscape by providing them with updated foundational information interspersed with case studies chosen to highlight past deficiencies and recent advances in the administration of justice. New chapters will include              discussions of the roles and challenges of ethics, bias and critical thinking in forensic scientific practice. As before, the overarching theme will be the value and necessity of science and law informing one another in the common pursuit of truth and justice.