A federal judge on Tuesday tossed out the drug and weapon convictions and a 33-year sentence of Northern Virginia man Justin Wolfe, thanks to the work of the University of Virginia School of Law’s Innocence Project Clinic and partnering organizations.

It took less than an hour in juvenile court to convict a Stafford County, Va., teen of rape at age 15. But it has taken years of effort by the youth, his family, two legal clinics at the University of Virginia School of Law and a large team of lawyers to try to clear his name — even after the alleged victim recanted her story soon after his conviction in 2007.

A federal judge threw out the conviction and death sentence of Northern Virginia man Justin Wolfe yesterday, thanks to the efforts of the Law School’s Innocence Project Clinic and partnering organizations.