Certification of Arizona Capital Counsel Mechanism, 20705-20721 [2020-07617]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
[Docket No. OAG–167; AG Order No. 4666–
2020]
Certification of Arizona Capital
Counsel Mechanism
Office of the Attorney General,
Department of Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Federal law makes certain
procedural benefits available to States in
federal habeas corpus review of capital
cases, where the Attorney General
certifies that the State has established a
postconviction capital counsel
mechanism satisfying the chapter’s
requirements. The Attorney General
certifies in this notice that Arizona has
such a mechanism, which was
established on May 19, 1998.
SUMMARY:
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Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(2),
the effective date of the certification in
this notice is May 19, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laurence Rothenberg, Deputy Assistant
Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy,
U.S. Department of Justice, 950
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20530; telephone (202) 532–4465.
Certification: Chapter 154 of title 28,
United States Code, provides special
federal habeas corpus review
procedures for state capital cases where
(i) the Attorney General has certified
that the State has established a
postconviction counsel appointment
mechanism for indigent capital
defendants that meets the requirements
stated in the chapter, and (ii) counsel
was appointed pursuant to the certified
mechanism, the defendant validly
waived or retained counsel, or the
defendant was not indigent. 28 U.S.C.
2261(b). Chapter 154 directs the
Attorney General to determine, if
requested by an appropriate state
official, whether the State has
established a qualifying mechanism for
appointment of postconviction capital
counsel, the date on which the
mechanism was established, and
whether the State provides standards of
competency for such appointments. Id.
§ 2265(a).
Having considered the relevant
statutes, rules, and policies in Arizona,
submissions by the Arizona Attorney
General, and the extensive public
comments thereon, and exercising the
authority conferred on me by 28 U.S.C.
2265, I determine and certify that
Arizona has established a mechanism
for the appointment, compensation, and
payment of reasonable litigation
expenses of competent counsel in state
postconviction proceedings brought by
indigent prisoners who have been
sentenced to death, including provision
of standards of competency for the
appointment of counsel in such
proceedings, which satisfies the
requirements of chapter 154. I further
determine and certify that Arizona had
an established capital counsel
mechanism satisfying the requirements
of chapter 154 as of May 19, 1998, and
that Arizona has continuously had a
capital counsel mechanism satisfying
the requirements of chapter 154 since
that date. Arizona has not requested
certification of its postconviction capital
counsel mechanism as it was prior to
May 19, 1998, and this certification
reflects no judgment or opinion whether
Arizona had a postconviction capital
counsel mechanism satisfying the
requirements of chapter 154 before that
date.
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The
remainder of this notice explains the
background of, and reasons for, my
certification of Arizona’s postconviction
capital counsel mechanism under the
following headings:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Procedural History
II. Assessment of Arizona’s Mechanism
Under Chapter 154
A. Chapter 154—As Enacted in 1996 and
As Amended in 2006
B. Appointment Requirement and
Procedures
C. Counsel Competency
D. Compensation of Counsel
E. Payment of Reasonable Litigation
Expenses
F. Timeliness of Appointment
III. Date the Mechanism Was Established
IV. Other Matters
A. Time Limits under Chapter 154
B. Validity of the Implementing Rule
C. Request for a Stay
I. Procedural History
Chapter 154 applies to cases arising
under 28 U.S.C. 2254 brought by
prisoners in State custody who are
subject to a capital sentence if ‘‘(1) the
Attorney General of the United States
certifies that a State has established a
mechanism for providing counsel in
postconviction proceedings as provided
in section 2265,’’ and ‘‘(2) counsel was
appointed pursuant to that mechanism,
petitioner validly waived counsel,
petitioner retained counsel, or petitioner
was found not to be indigent.’’ 28 U.S.C.
2261(b). Where the chapter applies,
federal habeas review is conducted in
conformity with special provisions
relating to stays of execution, the time
available for federal habeas filing, the
scope of federal habeas review, and the
time for completing the adjudication of
federal habeas petitions. See 28 U.S.C.
2262–66.
Chapter 154 derives from a proposal
developed in 1989, under the leadership
of Justice Lewis F. Powell, to address
the problem of protracted and repetitive
litigation in capital cases and to fill a
gap in representation for capital
defendants at the stage of state
postconviction review. The proposal
contemplated that more expeditious
procedures would apply, with greater
finality, in federal habeas corpus review
of capital cases in States that appoint
counsel for indigent capital defendants
in state collateral proceedings. See 135
Cong. Rec. 24694–98 (1989); 137 Cong.
Rec. 6012–14 (1991); H.R. Rep. 104–23,
at 10–11 (1995) (House Judiciary
Committee Report).
Congress enacted chapter 154 as part
of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act of 1996. See Public Law
104–132, sec. 107(a), 110 Stat. 1214,
1221–26. Under chapter 154 in its
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original form, federal habeas courts
determined the applicability of chapter
154’s expedited federal habeas review
procedures in the context of
adjudicating federal habeas petitions
filed by state capital defendants.
Litigation relating to States’ satisfaction
of chapter 154’s requirements ensued in
various States, resulting in a substantial
body of district court and court of
appeals precedent interpreting chapter
154, as well as a related decision by the
Supreme Court in Calderon v. Ashmus,
523 U.S. 740 (1998).
In relation to Arizona, in particular,
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in
Spears v. Stewart, 283 F.3d 992 (9th Cir.
2002), considered the question with
which I am now presented—whether
Arizona has established a
postconviction capital counsel
mechanism that satisfies chapter 154’s
requirements. The Ninth Circuit
answered that question in the
affirmative. See id. at 1008–18.
However, the court concluded that
chapter 154’s expedited federal habeas
review procedures would not apply in
the case before it because Arizona had
not appointed counsel for petitioner in
conformity with the mechanism. See id.
at 1018–19.
In 2006, Congress enacted
amendments that brought chapter 154
into its current form. See Public Law
109–177, sec. 507, 120 Stat. 250, 250–
51 (codified in part at 28 U.S.C. 2265).
The amendments transferred
responsibility for determining a State’s
satisfaction of chapter 154’s
requirements from the regional federal
courts to the Attorney General, subject
to de novo review by the D.C. Circuit
Court of Appeals. See 28 U.S.C. 2265.
Under the revised scheme, the Attorney
General, if requested by an appropriate
state official, makes a determination and
certification whether the State has
established a postconviction capital
counsel mechanism satisfying the
chapter’s requirements, with exclusive
review of the certification by the D.C.
Circuit. See 28 U.S.C. 2265(a), (c).
The 2006 amendments reflected a
legislative judgment that the Attorney
General and the D.C. Circuit would best
be able to make disinterested
determinations regarding state counsel
systems’ satisfaction of chapter 154. The
amendments also added a provision
stating that there are no requirements
for certification or application of
chapter 154 other than those expressly
stated in the chapter, 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(3), reflecting congressional
concern that some courts had declined
to apply chapter 154 on grounds going
beyond those Congress had deemed to
be warranted in its formulation of
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chapter 154, see 152 Cong. Rec. 2441,
2445–46 (2006) (remarks of Sen. Kyl);
151 Cong. Rec. E2640 (daily ed. Dec. 22,
2005) (extension of remarks of Rep.
Flake).
Chapter 154 directs the Attorney
General to promulgate regulations to
implement the certification procedure.
28 U.S.C. 2265(b). Attorney General
Mukasey in 2008 issued an initial
implementing rule for chapter 154. See
73 FR 75327, 75327–39 (Dec. 11, 2008).
The original rule tracked chapter 154’s
express requirements in light of 28
U.S.C. 2265(a)(3)’s specification that
‘‘[t]here are no requirements for
certification or for application of this
chapter other than those expressly
stated in this chapter.’’ Attorney General
Holder rescinded the original rule and
replaced it in 2013 with the current
rule. See 28 CFR 26.20–26.23; see also
78 FR 58160, 58160–84 (Sept. 23, 2013).
The regulations provide for the
Attorney General to publish a notice in
the Federal Register of a State’s requests
for chapter 154 certification, to include
solicitation of public comment on the
request, and for the Attorney General to
review the request and consider timely
public comments received in response
to the notice. 28 CFR 26.23(b)–(c). The
certification procedure was delayed for
a number of years because a district
court enjoined the regulations from
taking effect. The Ninth Circuit later
vacated the injunction, allowing the
regulations to take effect. See Habeas
Corpus Resource Ctr. v. U.S. Dep’t of
Justice, 816 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 2016),
cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 1338 (2017).
Arizona has requested that the
Attorney General certify its capital
counsel mechanism under chapter 154.
The materials relating to Arizona’s
request are available at www.justice.gov/
olp/pending-requests-final-decisions.
The main occurrences in the
certification process relating to Arizona
have been as follows:
Arizona initially requested chapter
154 certification by letter from its
Attorney General dated April 18, 2013.
After the Ninth Circuit vacated the
injunction against the certification
process, the Department of Justice
(‘‘Department’’) published a notice in
the Federal Register inviting public
comment on Arizona’s request for
certification and providing a 60-day
comment period. 82 FR 53529 (Nov. 16,
2017). Because of the passage of time
since Arizona’s original request, the
Department sent a letter to the Arizona
Attorney General dated November 16,
2017, advising of the publication,
seeking confirmation that the materials
previously submitted by the State were
still current, and asking whether the
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State wished to supplement, modify, or
update its request for certification. The
Arizona Attorney General responded by
letter of November 27, 2017, which
provided updated information. The
Department then published a second
notice, which noted the updated request
from Arizona and provided 60 days for
public comment running from
publication of the notice. 82 FR 61329
(Dec. 27, 2017).
The Department received 140
comments from organizations and
individuals in response to these
solicitations. The most extensive
comment was from the Federal Public
Defender for the District of Arizona
(AFPD), consisting of a 163-page
document and voluminous exhibits.
Other organizational commenters
included the Arizona Capital
Representation Project, the American
Bar Association, the Innocence Project,
the Arizona Justice Project, Federal
Public Defenders, Arizona Voice for
Crime Victims, the Phillips Black
Project, the American Civil Liberties
Union, and Arizona Attorneys for
Criminal Justice. Many comments were
also received from persons under
sentence of death in Arizona or their
lawyers.
On June 29, 2018, the Department
sent a letter to the Arizona Attorney
General requesting that the State
provide additional information about its
postconviction capital counsel
mechanism, based on questions that had
arisen during the Department’s review
of the State’s request for certification
and the public comments received. The
Arizona Attorney General sent a
responsive letter on October 16, 2018.
The following month, the Department
published a third notice to provide an
opportunity for public comment with
respect to the additional information the
Arizona Attorney General had
submitted. 83 FR 58786 (Nov. 21, 2018).
The Department received 17 comments
during the 45-day comment period in
response to this notice.
The ensuing section of this statement
explains the basis for granting chapter
154 certification to Arizona. I discuss
initially certain issues with crosscutting significance and then analyze
Arizona’s capital counsel mechanism in
relation to the elements required by
chapter 154, including appointment,
competency standards, compensation,
and payment of reasonable litigation
expenses for postconviction capital
counsel. With respect to each element,
I (i) identify the statutory basis of the
requirement and the pertinent Arizona
laws and policies, (ii) review judicial
precedent and its continuing relevance
(or not) given later changes in Arizona’s
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mechanism and chapter 154, and (iii)
explain the interpretation of chapter
154’s requirements in the Department’s
regulations and Arizona’s satisfaction of
these requirements as construed in the
regulations. The concluding section
discusses additional matters, including
objections to certification of Arizona’s
mechanism based on time limitation
rules appearing in chapter 154, the
validity of the implementing rule, and a
request that I stay the certification.
II. Assessment of Arizona’s Mechanism
Under Chapter 154
A. Chapter 154—As Enacted in 1996
and As Amended in 2006
Chapter 154 directs the Attorney
General, if requested by an appropriate
state official, to determine (i) whether
the State has established a mechanism
for the appointment, compensation, and
payment of reasonable litigation
expenses of competent counsel in state
postconviction proceedings brought by
indigent prisoners who have been
sentenced to death, and (ii) whether the
State provides standards of competency
for the appointment of such counsel. 28
U.S.C. 2265(a). Additional
specifications relating to the
appointment of postconviction counsel
appear in 28 U.S.C. 2261(c)–(d).
As noted above, I do not write on a
clean slate in addressing Arizona’s
request for certification. Prior to 2006,
the Attorney General was not involved
in chapter 154 determinations, which
were instead made by the federal courts
entertaining federal habeas petitions
filed by state prisoners under sentence
of death. In particular, in 2002, the
Ninth Circuit concluded that Arizona
had established a capital counsel
mechanism satisfying chapter 154’s
requirements. See Spears, 283 F.3d at
1007–19.
The analysis in Spears remains
relevant because Arizona’s capital
counsel mechanism has remained
largely the same since the Ninth
Circuit’s decision in that case, and the
elements of an adequate state capital
counsel mechanism as required by
chapter 154 are largely the same as
those required by chapter 154 at the
time of that decision. Moreover, the case
law under chapter 154, and particularly
Spears, provided the background for the
development of the Department’s
implementing regulations for chapter
154 that I now apply. The judicial
precedent accordingly elucidates and
supports many aspects of the
Department’s rule in its application to
Arizona. See, e.g., 78 FR at 58170,
58172, 58178, 58180.
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Discussion of Spears and other
decisions was also prominent in the
public comments on Arizona’s request
for certification. The comments argued
that aspects of the judicial decisions
that would support Arizona’s
certification should be considered no
longer relevant or applicable, based on
changes in Arizona’s capital counsel
mechanism over time or for other
reasons, but they pointed to other
aspects of the decisions as still pertinent
and as implying that certification
should be denied. I accordingly discuss
below, in relation to each required
element of an adequate state capital
counsel mechanism under chapter 154,
to what extent later changes affect the
relevance of the Ninth Circuit’s decision
and other judicial interpretations of
chapter 154.
Before turning to the analysis of
particular issues, I should address
public comments on Arizona’s request
for certification which suggested that
the Ninth Circuit’s determination
regarding Arizona’s capital counsel
mechanism should be dismissed as
dictum. The basis for the objection is
that the court in Spears found that
Arizona’s mechanism satisfies chapter
154’s requirements, but it nevertheless
denied the State the benefit of chapter
154’s review procedures on the ground
that the State had not fully complied
with its rules for appointing counsel in
that case. In Railroad Companies v.
Schutte, 103 U.S. 118 (1880), the
Supreme Court explained the
precedential weight of decisions of this
nature:
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It cannot be said that a case is not authority
on one point because, although that point
was properly presented and decided in the
regular course of the consideration of the
cause, something else was found in the end
which disposed of the whole matter. Here the
precise question was properly presented,
fully argued, and elaborately considered in
the opinion. The decision on this question
was as much a part of the judgment of the
court as was that on any other of the several
matters on which the case as a whole
depended . . . . If the decision is not
conclusive on us, it is of high authority under
the circumstances, and we are not inclined
to disregard it. Id. at 143.
The Supreme Court’s discussion in
Schutte fits exactly the Ninth Circuit’s
decision in Spears. I similarly view the
Ninth Circuit’s determination that
Arizona’s mechanism satisfies chapter
154 as persuasive authority of
substantial weight and I am ‘‘not
inclined to disregard it,’’ id.
At the same time, I note a change in
chapter 154 that makes my analysis
different in an important respect from
the preceding judicial consideration of
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these issues. Public comments opposing
Arizona’s request for certification have
noted judicial decisions that held that a
State could not receive the procedural
benefits of chapter 154 in a particular
case if the State did not comply with the
requirements of its capital counsel
mechanism in that case. See, e.g.,
Spears, 283 F.3d at 1018–19 (failure to
appoint counsel within time required by
state mechanism); Tucker v. Catoe, 221
F.3d 600, 604–05 (4th Cir. 2000) (failure
to appoint counsel meeting state
competency standards). Based on these
decisions, the comments argued, I
should deny Arizona’s request for
certification if, for example, the State’s
competency standards for appointment
have not been consistently satisfied.
Judicial decisions of this nature,
however, reflected the pre-2006 version
of chapter 154, under which requests to
apply chapter 154’s procedures were
presented to federal habeas courts in
particular cases. In that posture, courts
could consider both the general
question whether the State had
established a mechanism satisfying
chapter 154 and, if so, whether counsel
for the petitioner in the particular case
had been appointed in compliance with
that mechanism. Following the 2006
amendments to chapter 154, however,
only the general certification function is
assigned to the Attorney General, see 28
U.S.C. 2265, and ascertaining whether
counsel was appointed pursuant to the
certified mechanism, as provided in
section 2261(b)(2), is reserved to federal
habeas courts. See 78 FR at 58162–63,
58165. Consequently, comments
supposing that I must undertake casespecific review of the operation of
Arizona’s mechanism, and deny
certification based on asserted
deficiencies in practice, misapprehend
the current division of labor under
chapter 154 between the Attorney
General and federal habeas courts.
B. Appointment Requirement and
Procedures
Subsection (c) of 28 U.S.C. 2261
provides that a qualifying capital
counsel mechanism must offer
postconviction counsel to all prisoners
under capital sentence and provide for
court orders appointing such counsel for
indigent prisoners (absent waiver).
Subsection (d) provides that
postconviction counsel may not be the
trial counsel unless the prisoner and
trial counsel expressly request
continued representation. The
Department’s implementing regulations
for chapter 154, 28 CFR 26.22(a), track
these statutory requirements.
Arizona’s capital counsel mechanism
satisfies these requirements. Its statutes
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and rules provide for the appointment
by court order of postconviction counsel
for prisoners under sentence of death,
unless waived, and provide that
postconviction counsel cannot be the
same as trial counsel unless the
defendant and counsel expressly request
continued representation. See Ariz. Rev.
Stat. 13–4041(B)–(E) (‘‘[T]he supreme
court . . . or . . . the presiding judge
. . . shall appoint counsel to represent
the capital defendant in the state
postconviction relief proceeding . . . .
Counsel . . . shall . . . [n]ot previously
have represented the capital defendant
. . . in the trial court . . . unless the
defendant and counsel expressly request
continued representation . . . . [T]he
capital defendant may . . . waive
counsel . . . . [i]f . . . knowing and
voluntary . . . .’’); id. 13–4234(D) (‘‘All
indigent state prisoners under a capital
sentence are entitled to the appointment
of counsel to represent them in state
postconviction proceedings. A
competent indigent defendant may
reject the offer of counsel with an
understanding of its legal
consequence.’’); Ariz. R. Crim. P. 6.5(a)
(‘‘The court must appoint counsel by a
written order . . . .’’); id. 32.4(b)
(‘‘After the Supreme Court has affirmed
a capital defendant’s conviction and
sentence, it must appoint counsel [for
postconviction proceedings] . . . . If the
presiding judge makes an appointment,
the court must file a copy of the
appointment order with the Supreme
Court.’’).
In Spears, the Ninth Circuit
concluded that the relevant Arizona
provisions, which did not differ
significantly from their current versions
with respect to the 28 U.S.C. 2261(c)–(d)
requirements, satisfied this aspect of
chapter 154. See 283 F.3d at 1009–12,
1017. I agree that this continues to be
the case.
C. Counsel Competency
Subsection (a) of 28 U.S.C. 2265
requires the Attorney General to
determine whether a State has
established a mechanism for the
appointment of competent
postconviction capital counsel and
whether it provides standards of
competency for the appointment of such
counsel.
Analysis of this issue includes
consideration of federal and state law on
counsel competency standards, prior
judicial assessment of Arizona’s
standards, and various issues raised in
the public comments on Arizona’s
request for certification.
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1. Counsel Competency Standards
Under State and Federal Law
Arizona statutory provisions, in effect
since 1996, regarding eligibility for
appointment as postconviction capital
counsel, have required that counsel (i)
be a member in good standing of the
state bar for at least five years
immediately preceding the
appointment, and (ii) have practiced in
the area of state criminal appeals or
postconviction proceedings for at least
three years immediately preceding the
appointment. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13–
4041(C). The statute directs the Arizona
Supreme Court to maintain a list of
eligible attorneys and authorizes the
Arizona Supreme Court to establish by
rule more stringent standards of
competency. See id. At the time of the
decision in Spears, there was also a
provision—since repealed—allowing
the Arizona Supreme Court to appoint
non-list counsel if no qualified counsel
were available. See Spears, 283 F.3d at
1009–10.
The experience requirements of the
Arizona statute are similar to counsel
competency standards that Congress has
adopted for federal court proceedings in
capital cases, including both federal
habeas corpus review of state capital
cases and collateral proceedings under
28 U.S.C. 2255 in federal capital cases.
See 18 U.S.C. 3599. The federal
standard for post-conviction counsel is
not less than five years of admission to
practice and three years of experience in
handling felony appeals. Exceptions are
allowed as provided in section 3599(d),
which permits the court, for good cause,
to appoint other attorneys whose
background, knowledge, or experience
would otherwise enable them to
properly represent capital defendants.
Under the regulations implementing
chapter 154 that I apply, and as a matter
of common sense, it is significant that
a State has adopted experience
requirements similar to those that
Congress has adopted for federal court
proceedings, because it is implausible
that Congress would have deemed
inadequate under chapter 154 standards
that it has deemed adequate for the
corresponding federal proceedings. See
78 FR at 58170.
In addition, the Arizona Supreme
Court has adopted a rule, Ariz. R. Crim.
P. 6.8, that sets more stringent counsel
competency standards than those
appearing in the state statute that
emulates the federal competency
standards. At the time of the
appointment considered in Spears, the
rule required appointed counsel: (i) To
have been a member in good standing of
the Arizona Bar for at least five years
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immediately before appointment; (ii) to
have practiced state criminal litigation
for three years immediately before
appointment; (iii) to have demonstrated
the necessary proficiency and
commitment which exemplify the
quality of representation appropriate for
capital cases; (iv) within three years
immediately before appointment, to
have been lead counsel in an appeal or
postconviction proceeding in a capital
case, and have prior experience as lead
counsel in the appeal of at least three
felony convictions and at least one
postconviction proceeding with an
evidentiary hearing or have been lead
counsel in the appeal of at least six
felony convictions, including at least
two appeals from murder convictions,
and lead counsel in at least two
postconviction proceedings with
evidentiary hearings; and (v) to have
attended and successfully completed
within one year of appointment at least
12 hours of relevant training or
educational programs in the area of
capital defense. See Spears, 283 F.3d at
1010–11. The rule further provided that
postconviction capital counsel not fully
satisfying these qualifications may be
appointed in exceptional circumstances,
but only if: (i) The Arizona Supreme
Court consents, (ii) the attorney’s
experience, stature, and record establish
that the attorney’s ability significantly
exceeds the full suite of qualifications,
and (iii) the attorney associates with a
lawyer who does meet the rule’s
qualifications. See Spears, 283 F.3d at
1010–11.
The Ninth Circuit concluded in
Spears that these counsel competency
standards were sufficient under chapter
154. See id. at 1013–15. The court noted
that Congress did not envision any
specific competency standards but,
rather, ‘‘intended the states to have
substantial discretion to determine the
substance of the competency
standards.’’ Id. at 1013. The court
dismissed an objection based on the
rule’s exception allowing the
appointment of lawyers not meeting its
specific criteria, noting that the
exception required that such a lawyer
significantly exceed those criteria and
that the lawyer associated with one who
did meet the rule’s qualifications. See
id. The court also dismissed an
objection that the competency standards
were insufficient because they allowed
appointment of lawyers without
experience defending a capital case,
reasoning that ‘‘[n]othing in 28 U.S.C.
2261(b) or in logic requires that a lawyer
must have capital experience to be
competent.’’ Id. Finally, the court
dismissed an objection based on the
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statutory allowance of other counsel if
qualified counsel were unavailable,
because the Arizona Supreme Court had
bound itself by the rule it adopted to
appoint counsel meeting the rule’s
standards. See id. at 1012–15.
Arizona’s postconviction capital
counsel competency standards have
changed in some particulars during the
period considered in this certification.
An amendment adopted in 2000—before
the decision in Spears but after the
appointment considered in that case—
changed the training requirement to
successful completion within one year
before initial appointment of at least six
hours of relevant training or education
in the area of capital defense, and
successful completion within one year
before any later appointment of at least
12 hours of relevant training or
education in the area of criminal
defense. A requirement was later added
that counsel be familiar with and guided
by the American Bar Association
guidelines for capital defense counsel.
And an amendment adopted in 2011
modified the detailed litigation
experience requirements in Rule 6.8, in
places where the text had required
postconviction litigation experience, to
require instead trial or postconviction
litigation experience.
As modified, Arizona’s
postconviction counsel competency
standards have continued to exceed the
standards of 18 U.S.C. 3599, which
Congress has deemed adequate for
postconviction counsel in federal court
proceedings in capital cases.
Nevertheless, public comments on
Arizona’s request for certification have
questioned the current relevance of
Spears with respect to Arizona’s
counsel competency standards, focusing
mainly on the change in 2011 affecting
the requirement of postconviction
litigation experience. These comments
were based on the 2011 amendment’s
addition of the following language in
Rule 6.8, underlined below in the
current text of Rule 6.8(d):
(d) Post-Conviction Counsel. To be eligible
for appointment as post-conviction counsel,
an attorney must meet the qualifications set
forth in (a) and the attorney must:
(1) Within 3 years immediately before the
appointment, have been lead counsel in a
trial in which a death sentence was sought
or in an appeal or post-conviction proceeding
in a case in which a death sentence was
imposed, and prior experience as lead
counsel in the appeal of at least three felony
convictions and a trial or post-conviction
proceeding with an evidentiary hearing; or
(2) have been lead counsel in the appeal of
at least 6 felony convictions, including two
appeals from first- or second-degree murder
convictions, and lead counsel in at least two
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with evidentiary hearings.
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Nothing in Spears suggests that the
modifications of Rule 6.8 since 1998—
and in particular, the rule’s allowance of
trial or postconviction litigation
experience—place the rule beyond
Arizona’s ‘‘substantial discretion to
determine the substance of the
competency standards.’’ Spears, 283
F.3d at 1007. Indeed, in an earlier case,
the Ninth Circuit considered this very
question and concluded that
postconviction litigation experience is
not a necessary element of adequate
counsel competency standards under
chapter 154. See Ashmus v. Calderon,
123 F.3d 1199, 1208 (9th Cir. 1997),
rev’d on other grounds, 523 U.S. 740
(1998). Responding to a challenge to
California’s standards because they did
not require any familiarity with or
experience in postconviction
litigation—referred to as ‘‘habeas
corpus’’ in California—the court
observed that ‘‘[m]any lawyers who
could competently represent a
condemned prisoner would not qualify
under such a standard. We conclude a
state’s competency standards need not
require previous experience in habeas
corpus litigation.’’ Ashmus, 123 F.3d at
1208.
2. Counsel Competency in the
Department’s Regulations
Postconviction litigation experience is
also not an essential element of
adequate counsel competency standards
under the Department’s interpretation of
this aspect of chapter 154. The
Department’s regulations address
counsel competency in 28 CFR 26.22(b),
which says that a State’s ‘‘mechanism
must provide for appointment of
competent counsel as defined in State
standards of competency for such
appointments.’’ To aid in the
determination regarding this
requirement, section 26.22(b)(1)
provides two benchmark criteria and
says that a State’s standards of
competency are presumptively adequate
if they meet or exceed either of the
benchmarks. Section 26.22(b)(2) further
states that competency standards not
satisfying the benchmark criteria will be
deemed adequate only if they otherwise
reasonably assure a level of proficiency
appropriate for State postconviction
litigation in capital cases.
In applying section 26.22(b)(2), the
benchmark criteria continue to function
as reference points in the evaluation.
State competency standards that are
likely to result in significantly lower
levels of proficiency than the
benchmarks risk being found inadequate
under chapter 154, while state
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competency standards that are likely to
result in similar or even higher levels of
proficiency than the benchmarks weigh
in favor of a finding of adequacy under
chapter 154. See 78 FR at 58172, 58179.
The first benchmark criterion,
appearing in section 26.22(b)(1)(i), is
appointment of counsel ‘‘who have been
admitted to the bar for at least five years
and have at least three years of
postconviction litigation experience.’’
The basic standard is subject to the
proviso that ‘‘a court, for good cause,
may appoint other counsel whose
background, knowledge, or experience
would otherwise enable them to
properly represent the petitioner, with
due consideration of the seriousness of
the penalty and the unique and complex
nature of the litigation.’’ 28 CFR
26.22(b)(1)(i).
Arizona’s standards of competency for
appointment, appearing in Arizona Rule
of Criminal Procedure 6.8(a)–(e),
compare favorably to section
26.22(b)(1)(i). Section 26.22(b)(1)(i)
could be satisfied, for example, by a
lawyer admitted to the bar for five years
who handled one or two postconviction
proceedings in which the litigation
continued over three years. It could be
satisfied even if the postconviction
proceedings concerned offenses
dissimilar from capital murder offenses
and even if the postconviction
proceedings did not involve evidentiary
hearings. By comparison, Arizona
requires, in addition to five years of bar
admission and three years of recent
criminal litigation practice: (i)
Demonstrated proficiency and
commitment exemplifying the quality of
representation appropriate for capital
cases; (ii) relevant training or education
in the area of capital defense and other
criminal defense; (iii) familiarity with
the American Bar Association
guidelines for capital defense counsel;
and (iv) recent experience as lead
counsel in capital litigation with prior
experience as lead counsel in at least
three felony appeals and a trial or
postconviction proceeding with an
evidentiary hearing or experience as
lead counsel in at least six felony
appeals, including two murder
conviction appeals, and experience as
lead counsel in at least two felony trials
or postconviction proceedings with
evidentiary hearings. See Ariz. R. Crim.
P. 6.8(a), (d).
The nature and extent of Arizona’s
standards of competency justify the
conclusion that they are ‘‘likely to result
in even higher levels of proficiency,’’ 78
FR at 58172, than the benchmark set
forth in 28 CFR 26.22(b)(1)(i). The same
was true of earlier iterations of
Arizona’s counsel competency
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standards, which have evolved in some
respects as discussed above. It follows
that Arizona’s capital counsel
mechanism provides (and has provided)
adequate standards of competency for
appointments. See 28 CFR 26.22(b)(2);
see also 78 FR at 58172.
A number of public comments argued
that Arizona’s standards are inadequate
because, following the 2011
amendments to Rule 6.8, they do not
require postconviction litigation
experience. These comments are of a
piece with those, discussed above, that
attempted to distinguish Spears on this
ground. In relation to section
26.22(b)(2), the objection assumes that
postconviction litigation experience is
critical, if not essential, under the
Department’s rule.
The comments misunderstand the
regulation. As explained above, in
applying section 26.22(b)(2), the
benchmark criteria of section 26.22(b)(1)
serve as reference points. The ‘‘section
26.22(b)(1)(i) [benchmark] is based on
the qualification standards Congress has
adopted in 18 U.S.C. 3599 for
appointment of counsel in Federal court
proceedings in capital cases’’ and ‘‘[t]he
formulation of the benchmark . . . does
not take issue . . . with Congress’s
judgments regarding counsel
competency standards that are likely to
be adequate.’’ 78 FR at 58169. The
federal statutory competency standards
are themselves appropriate reference
points in assessing the adequacy of
corresponding state standards, because
it is implausible that Congress would
have deemed inadequate for state
postconviction proceedings standards
similar to those it has deemed adequate
for federal postconviction proceedings.
See 78 FR at 58169–70. Significantly, 18
U.S.C. 3599 does not require prior
postconviction litigation experience.
Rather, it deems sufficient having prior
experience in the litigation of felony
appeals. See id. As detailed above,
Arizona’s standards throughout the
timeframe of this certification have
required substantial experience
litigating felony appeals.
Moreover, Arizona’s competency
standards do not deem appellate
experience alone to be sufficient but
rather also require postconviction
litigation experience or trial experience.
Where that element of the standard is
satisfied by trial experience rather than
postconviction experience, it remains
relevant to postconviction litigation,
equipping postconviction counsel to
assess the adequacy of trial counsel’s
performance and enhancing his ability
to raise in postconviction proceedings
claims of ineffectiveness of trial counsel
and other claims relating to the trial
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proceedings. And, as discussed above,
Arizona’s standards have consistently
involved other requirements, going
beyond both the section 22.62(b)(1)(i)
benchmark and 18 U.S.C. 3599, which
are relevant to counsel’s ability to
provide competent representation in
capital postconviction proceedings.
3. Specific Criticisms
Some public comments objected that
Arizona’s qualification standards are
inadequate because Arizona Rule of
Criminal Procedure 6.8(e) (formerly
6.8(d)) allows the appointment of
counsel who do not meet some of the
qualification standards, an allowance
that the comments say has been relied
on in nearly 25 percent of capital cases
in Arizona. However, the proviso in
Rule 6.8(e) is similar to language in 28
CFR 26.22(b)(1)(i) and 18 U.S.C. 3599(d)
that allows the court, for good cause, to
appoint counsel not satisfying the basic
standard if the attorney’s background,
knowledge, or experience would
otherwise enable him to properly
represent the defendant. Indeed, the
Rule 6.8(e) proviso is narrower in some
respects than the proviso in the federal
provisions in that it requires that: (i)
The Arizona Supreme Court consent to
the appointment; (ii) the attorney satisfy
certain of Rule 6.8’s requirements,
including successful completion of
relevant training or educational
programs; (iii) the attorney’s experience,
stature, and record establish that the
attorney’s ability significantly exceeds
the full set of qualification standards;
and (iv) the attorney associate with an
attorney appointed by the court who
fully meets the standards of Rule 6.8.
Ariz. R. Crim. P. 6.8(e)(1)–(4). Put
simply, Rule 6.8(e) requires more to
ensure that appointed counsel will
provide competent representation than
do its federal counterparts, and this has
been true throughout the timeframe of
this certification.
Some comments argued that Arizona’s
counsel competency standards are
insufficient because they lack an
appropriate appointing authority,
adequate training requirements,
adequate qualitative evaluation, an
adequate system for monitoring the
performance of counsel following
appointment, and adequate means to
terminate the eligibility of counsel
whose performance is inadequate or
who engages in misconduct. States can
qualify for chapter 154 certification by
establishing capital counsel
mechanisms that incorporate elements
addressing these matters. See 78 FR at
58170–71. But neither the terms of
chapter 154 and the implementing
regulations nor judicial precedent
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support the notion that these things are
required. Congress intended that States
have substantial discretion in defining
competency standards under chapter
154. See Spears, 283 F.3d at 1012–13;
78 FR at 58170, 58172. Arizona’s
competency standards are well within
the bounds of its discretion, as
measured against 18 U.S.C. 3599(d), 28
CFR 26.22(b), and the judgment in
Spears.
Finally, some public comments
argued that Arizona’s competency
standards should be deemed inadequate
in practice, alleging that many
appointed postconviction counsel in
Arizona do not perform competently,
that some had not been considered
proficient by a Maricopa County
selection committee for trial and
appellate capital counsel, and that the
qualification requirements for
appointment are not consistently
enforced. Comments of this nature also
pointed to language in the rule preamble
that observed that a State may fail to
establish in practice a necessary element
of its capital counsel mechanism and to
judicial decisions (preceding the
transfer of the certification function to
the Attorney General) that concluded
that States must comply with their
capital counsel mechanisms to have the
benefit of the chapter 154 review
procedures.
Arizona disagrees that there are
systemic problems relating to the
competency of the State’s appointed
postconviction capital counsel. Arizona
asserts that the critical comments
largely focus on 12 attorneys out of 86,
none of whom have been disciplined,
removed from cases, or judicially
determined to be incompetent based on
their alleged deficiencies. Arizona also
asserts that the Arizona Supreme Court
need not agree with or defer to a
committee of defense lawyers in
Maricopa County and can instead
reasonably appoint postconviction
counsel who satisfy the State’s
competency standards in its own
judgment. Furthermore, regarding the
comments’ presentation of criticisms by
counsel involved in later stages of
capital case litigation, Arizona asserts
that ‘‘[r]arely . . . is there a capital case
in which habeas counsel does not raise
new claims or fault the work of earlier
lawyers as flawed and ineffective’’ but
‘‘the strategy has never succeeded’’ with
respect to ‘‘any of the 12 attorneys at
issue.’’ Letter from Office of the Arizona
Attorney General, Oct. 16, 2018, at 8–10.
The critical comments on this issue
misunderstand the allocation of
responsibilities under the current
version of chapter 154 and the Attorney
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General’s function in making
certification decisions.
Regarding a State’s compliance with
its own capital mechanism, the current
statutory scheme does not call for or
allow case-specific oversight by the
Attorney General. As discussed above,
following the amendments that
Congress enacted in 2006, chapter 154
includes only two preconditions to its
applicability in a particular case: ‘‘The
Attorney General of the United States
certifies that a State has established a
mechanism for providing counsel in
postconviction proceedings as provided
in section 2265,’’ 28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(1);
and ‘‘counsel was appointed pursuant to
that mechanism, petitioner validly
waived counsel, petitioner retained
counsel, or petitioner was found not to
be indigent,’’ id. 2261(b)(2). Only the
general certification function referenced
in section 2261(b)(1), and set forth fully
in section 2265, is assigned to ‘‘the
Attorney General of the United States.’’
Ascertaining whether counsel was
appointed pursuant to the certified
mechanism, as provided in section
2261(b)(2), is reserved to federal habeas
courts, ‘‘which can address individual
irregularities and decide whether the
Federal habeas corpus review
procedures of chapter 154 will apply in
particular cases.’’ 78 FR at 58162.
In this regard, the current law differs
from chapter 154 as it was prior to the
2006 amendments, when requests to
apply the chapter 154 federal habeas
review procedures were presented to
federal habeas courts in the context of
particular cases they were reviewing.
Courts in that posture considered
whether the State had established a
mechanism satisfying chapter 154, and
if so, whether counsel for the petitioner
in the particular case before the court
had been appointed in compliance with
that mechanism. Consequently, if
counsel had not been appointed on
collateral review in a particular case, or
if the attorney provided did not satisfy
the State’s competency standards for
such appointments, the courts could
find chapter 154 inapplicable on that
basis, regardless of whether the State
had established a capital counsel
mechanism that otherwise satisfied the
requirements of chapter 154. See 78 FR
at 58162–63, 58165; see also, e.g.,
Tucker, 221 F.3d at 604–05 (‘‘We
accordingly conclude that a State must
not only enact a ‘mechanism’ and
standards for postconviction review
counsel, but those mechanisms and
standards must in fact be complied with
before the State may invoke the time
limitations of 28 U.S.C. 2263.’’).
In contrast, in entertaining a State’s
request for chapter 154 certification
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under the current law, the Attorney
General has no individual case before
him and is not responsible for
determining whether a State has
complied with its mechanism in any
particular case. Rather, as discussed
above, 28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(1) assigns to
the Attorney General the general
certification function under chapter 154,
which makes him responsible for
determining whether an appointment
mechanism has been established by the
State and whether the State provides
standards of competency. If the state
mechanism is certified, appointment of
counsel pursuant to the certified
mechanism (absent waiver or retention
of counsel or a finding of nonindigence) continues to be a further
condition for the applicability of
chapter 154. Whether that has occurred
in any individual case is, under 28
U.S.C. 2261(b)(2), a matter to be decided
by the federal habeas court to which the
case is presented, not the Attorney
General. See 78 FR at 58162–63, 58165.
Likewise, the contention that the
Attorney General should certify a State’s
mechanism only if he is satisfied with
the actual performance of
postconviction counsel following
appointment misconceives the Attorney
General’s role under the current law.
Chapter 154 provides that the Attorney
General ‘‘shall determine’’ whether a
State ‘‘has established a mechanism for
the appointment . . . of competent
counsel’’ in state capital postconviction
proceedings, and whether the State
‘‘provides standards of competency for
the appointment of counsel’’ in such
proceedings. 28 U.S.C. 2265(a). The
statute does not provide that the
Attorney General is to inquire into
counsel’s performance following
appointment in all or even some cases.
Instead, it frames its requirements
regarding counsel competency as
matters relating to appointment,
contemplating an inquiry into whether
a State has standards determining
eligibility for appointment. See 78 FR at
58162–63, 58165. This understanding is
supported by the Powell Committee
Report, the original reform proposal
from which chapter 154 derives. The
report explained that federal review
would examine whether a State’s
mechanism for appointing capital
postconviction counsel comports with
the statutory requirements ‘‘as opposed
to [examining] the competency of
particular counsel.’’ 135 Cong. Rec. at
24696. It further explained that, in
contrast to the focus on ‘‘the
performance of a capital defendant’s
trial and appellate counsel,’’ ‘‘[t]he
effectiveness of State and Federal
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postconviction counsel is a matter that
can and must be dealt with in the
appointment process.’’ Id.; see 78 FR at
58162–63, 58165.
Regarding the ‘‘establishment’’ of a
mechanism meeting chapter 154’s
requirements, 28 U.S.C. 2265(a), the
rule’s preamble posited that the
Attorney General might need to address
situations involving ‘‘a wholesale failure
to implement one or more material
elements of a mechanism described in a
State’s certification submission, such as
when a State’s submission relying on
section 26.22(b)(1)(ii) in the rule points
to a statute that authorizes a State
agency to create and fund a statewide
attorney monitoring program, but the
agency never actually expends any
funds, or expends funds to provide for
monitoring of attorneys in only a few of
its cities.’’ 78 FR at 58162–63. (The
section 26.22(b)(1)(ii) benchmark
referenced in the example involves a
state post-appointment monitoring
system, see 34 U.S.C. 60301(e)(2)(E)(i).)
One could imagine similar situations in
connection with other chapter 154
requirements—for example, if a state
statute authorizes appointment and
compensation of postconviction capital
counsel for indigent prisoners, but the
state legislature never appropriates any
funds that can lawfully be used for that
purpose.
As the preamble discussion makes
clear, however, ‘‘a wholesale failure’’ to
implement a necessary element under
chapter 154 is an extreme situation, and
no such situation exists or has existed
with respect to Arizona’s appointment
of postconviction counsel. ‘‘Other than
in these situations, should they arise,
questions of compliance by a State with
the standards of its capital counsel
mechanism will be a matter for the
Federal habeas courts.’’ 78 FR at 58163.
4. The Arizona Capital Postconviction
Public Defender Office
Some comments suggested that
Arizona’s mechanism does not satisfy
chapter 154’s counsel competency
requirements because Arizona had,
between 2007 and 2011, a public
postconviction capital counsel agency—
the Arizona Capital Postconviction
Public Defender Office—and counsel
employed by that agency did not have
to satisfy the standards of competency
for appointment under Rule 6.8. See
Letter from Martin Lieberman, Dec. 27,
2018; Letter from AFPD, Feb. 22, 2018,
at 38–41. This agency, which the
commenters describe as inadequately
funded and ultimately unsuccessful,
was created by legislation enacted in
2006 that provided for the agency’s
termination on July 1, 2011. 2006 Ariz.
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Legis. Serv. Ch. 369, sec. 3, 4, 6. During
the limited period of its existence, the
agency did not supplant Arizona’s
general capital counsel mechanism,
which continued to provide counsel for
postconviction representation outside of
the few cases handled by the agency.
The comments relating to the agency do
not go to the question whether Arizona
had a capital counsel mechanism
adequate under chapter 154 before the
agency’s establishment or after its
termination, but at most to whether
there was an intermediate period in
2007 to 2011 in which it did not.
With respect to that period, the
comments amount to a claim that
agency counsel were not appointed
pursuant to the mechanism I now certify
in the few cases the agency handled,
because the agency counsel were not
required to satisfy state standards of
competency. Cf. Tucker, 221 F.3d at
604. Under the current formulation of
chapter 154, such a claim could be
presented to the federal habeas court
under 28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(2) in the cases
in which the agency provided
postconviction representation and, if
found to have merit, it could provide a
basis for finding chapter 154’s review
procedures inapplicable in those cases.
It does not have implications outside of
those cases or affect my determination
that Arizona has had a mechanism for
appointment of postconviction counsel
satisfying chapter 154’s requirements
continuously since May 19, 1998.
I also conclude that Arizona has had
a capital counsel mechanism adequate
under chapter 154 continuously since
May 19, 1998, because Arizona’s capital
counsel mechanism in the period
between 2007 and 2011 comprised its
general mechanism established in 1998
together with the provision for
representation by the public agency.
Arizona law required that the agency’s
Director meet or exceed the Rule 6.8
competency standards. 2006 Ariz. Legis.
Serv. Ch. 369, sec. 7. The Director in
turn hired experienced attorneys who
operated under his supervision. See
Letter from Martin Lieberman, Apr. 5,
2009, at 3. With respect to the agency’s
staff counsel, hiring and employment by
a dedicated office whose function is
capital postconviction representation,
under a Director having those
qualifications, is a reasonable means of
ensuring proficiency appropriate for
such representation. I therefore find that
this aspect of Arizona’s mechanism
satisfies section 26.22(b)(2).
The comments’ criticisms relating to
the public agency’s funding do not
impugn this conclusion. Nor do they
show a failure by Arizona to satisfy
chapter 154’s other requirements,
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relating to compensation and payment
of reasonable litigation expenses, which
are fully discussed in the ensuing
portions of this notice. Rather, the
information in the comments indicates
that the agency was generally able to
limit its caseload to a level compatible
with its resources. Its attorneys were
compensated by salary, which is
allowed under chapter 154 for public
defender personnel. See Spears, 283
F.3d at 1010 (requirement regarding
hourly rate of compensation
inapplicable to counsel in publicly
funded offices); 78 FR at 58180 (such
counsel may be compensated by salary).
Litigation expenses were paid from the
agency’s budget with the possibility of
requesting additional funds from the
court. The comments state that a
budgetary shortfall in 2009 resulted in
delay in the processing of two cases. See
Decl. of Martin Lieberman, Dec. 26,
2017, at 2–4; Letter from Martin
Lieberman, Apr. 5, 2009, at 3–4. But
chapter 154 does not condition
certification on all cases being
processed without delay.
5. International Issues
Beyond the general comments
regarding Arizona’s counsel competency
standards, the Government of Mexico
submitted a comment asserting that the
Attorney General should deny
certification because Arizona has no
provision ensuring that foreign national
defendants receive competent
representation. See Letter from Amb.
Jose´ Antonio Zabalgoitia, Jan. 5, 2017.
The comment states that attorneys
representing foreign nationals need
expertise specific to such clients,
including expertise regarding
international law. See id. at 2–3. The
comment further asserts that foreign
nationals present other special needs
affecting the requirements for competent
representation, including defense teams
that can communicate in the
defendant’s native language, culturally
competent experts who can understand
the defendant’s cultural background and
work with him and his family in
appropriate ways, and foreign travel to
investigate the defendant’s
circumstances and life in his home
country. See id.
The comment does not provide a basis
for denying certification. Prisoners
under sentence of death could be
divided into many subcategories, each
of which might benefit from
representation by lawyers with special
expertise. But chapter 154 does not
require that a State define special
competency standards for lawyers with
respect to each such class. Instead, it
provides that a State must provide
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standards of competency for
appointment. See 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(1)(C).
The comment provides no persuasive
reason to believe that lawyers satisfying
Arizona’s standards for appointment
will be unable to handle competently
any legal issues involved in
representing foreign clients. The
counsel competency standards Congress
has enacted for federal court
proceedings in capital cases, 18 U.S.C.
3599, impose no special requirements
for cases involving foreign defendants. It
is implausible that Congress intended to
impose such requirements with respect
to state postconviction proceedings
under chapter 154. Likewise, the
implementing rule for chapter 154 does
not require special counsel competency
standards for cases involving foreign
defendants. Neither of the section
26.22(b)(1) benchmark criteria require
special competency standards for
counsel representing foreign clients, and
there is no basis for reading such a
requirement into the section 26.22(b)(2)
authorization of standards that
otherwise reasonably assure a level of
proficiency appropriate for state capital
postconviction litigation.
Other matters raised in this
comment—relating to language skills,
culturally competent experts, and
foreign travel—go to the question
whether Arizona provides for payment
of reasonable litigation expenses. I
answer that question in the affirmative
for reasons discussed in Part II.E of this
notice.
D. Compensation of Counsel
Chapter 154 requires the Attorney
General to determine whether a state
has established a mechanism for the
compensation of appointed
postconviction capital counsel. 28
U.S.C. 2265(a). Throughout the period
considered in this certification, Arizona
Revised Statutes section 13–4041 has
provided that ‘‘[u]nless counsel is
employed by a publicly funded office,
counsel appointed to represent a capital
defendant in state postconviction relief
proceedings shall be paid an hourly rate
of not to exceed one hundred dollars per
hour.’’ Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13–4041(F). The
statute has also consistently required
the court (or the court’s designee) to
approve reasonable fees and costs, and
has provided for recourse through a
special action with the Arizona
Supreme Court where the attorney
believes that the court has set an
unreasonably low hourly rate or the
court found that the hours the attorney
spent were unreasonable. See Ariz. Rev.
Stat. 13–4041(G). The statute formerly
required that counsel establish good
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cause to receive compensation for more
than 200 hours of work—amounting to
a presumptive $20,000 cap on
compensation at the maximum hourly
rate of $100—but legislation enacted in
2013 eliminated this limitation. See
2013 Ariz. Legis. Serv. Ch. 94.
1. Judicial Assessment of Compensation
Under Chapter 154
In Spears, the Ninth Circuit
‘‘conclude[d] that Arizona’s
compensation mechanism complied
with Chapter 154.’’ 283 F.3d at 1015.
The court rejected petitioner’s argument
that the then-existing 200-hour limit
was ‘‘unduly burdensome to appointed
counsel,’’ reasoning that ‘‘to receive
compensation for hours beyond the
threshold, the lawyer need[ ] only to
establish that he or she worked more
than 200 hours on the case and that the
time expended was reasonable.’’ Id. The
court observed that ‘‘[n]othing in
Chapter 154 suggests that the
mechanism to ensure compensation
must be a blank check. The statute
simply requires that the appointment
mechanism reasonably compensate
counsel.’’ Id. Consequently, consistent
with chapter 154, ‘‘a state can require an
appointed lawyer to account for the
reasonableness of the number of hours
worked before it compensates that
lawyer.’’ Id.
Considering the State’s submissions
and the public comments thereon, there
appears to be agreement that the
Arizona Supreme Court consistently
orders compensation at the maximum
hourly rate of $100. The comments
noted, however, that the $100 hourly
rate has not been changed since 1998,
during which time its real value has
been eroded by inflation. The comments
pointed to recommendations that the
hourly rate be increased, with $125
sometimes mentioned as a more
appropriate figure.
As an initial matter, the reduction of
the value of $100 by inflation during the
period of the certification does not
imply that it is now an inadequate
maximum hourly rate. A State may
establish a rate of compensation high
enough that it is adequate at the outset
and continues to be adequate even after
inflation’s erosion of its real value over
time. The hourly rate established by
Arizona, in particular, continues to be
adequate under chapter 154.
Simple computation allows a general
assessment of the remuneration
postconviction capital counsel may be
afforded in Arizona. Assuming that a
regular work week is 40 hours, and that
a regular work year consists of about 50
weeks, the number of hours in a full
year of work is 2000. Applying
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Arizona’s maximum hourly rate of $100,
postconviction counsel would receive
$4,000 for a week of full-time work on
a capital case, and would receive
$200,000 for a year’s work.
Judicial precedent finding state
compensation inadequate under chapter
154 has involved much more restrictive
compensation provisions than
Arizona’s. In Baker v. Corcoran, 220
F.3d 276 (4th Cir. 2000), the Fourth
Circuit concluded that Maryland’s
scheme failed to satisfy chapter 154. Id.
at 287. Maryland at the time
compensated postconviction capital
counsel $30 per hour for out-of-court
time and $35 per hour for in-court time,
subject to an overall cap of $12,500. Id.
at 285. Examining attorney overhead
costs and the effects of the hourly rates
and fee cap, the court concluded that
accepting postconviction capital cases
resulted in a net loss to attorneys. Id.
The court stated that ‘‘[a] compensation
system that results in substantial losses
to the appointed attorney or his firm
simply cannot be deemed adequate.’’ Id.
at 285–86.
The compensation scheme at issue in
Baker bears no resemblance to Arizona’s
system, which, as discussed above, may
compensate postconviction capital
counsel $200,000 for a year’s work
(reckoned as 2,000 hours). Even
assuming overhead costs of 40% of
revenue for private counsel, as a
commenter suggested, the net
authorized income for a year of
postconviction work in Arizona would
be $120,000 (= $200,000 ¥ 40% ×
$200,000). This is far from the concern
reflected in Baker regarding attorneys
having to operate at a substantial loss.
See 220 F.3d at 285–86; see also Mata
v. Johnson, 99 F.3d 1261, 1266 (5th Cir.
1996) (finding that Texas’s mechanism,
which capped compensation at $7,500
and expenses at $2,500, satisfied
chapter 154 for those elements), vacated
in part on other grounds, 105 F.3d 209
(5th Cir. 1997).
Arizona’s submissions provided
extensive information about how
appointed counsel are compensated in
practice. Arizona’s 2017 application
letter explained that ‘‘[c]ounsel
employed by publicly-funded offices are
compensated by salary’’ and that
‘‘[a]ppointed private counsel are
compensated at an hourly rate of up to
$100 per hour,’’ as provided by statute.
Letter from Office of the Arizona
Attorney General, Nov. 27, 2017, at 2.
The application further reported that
‘‘Arizona regularly spends well over
$200,000 in attorney fees and litigation
costs in capital post-conviction cases,
and has spent over $500,000 in more
than one case.’’ Id. In 2018, Arizona
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provided additional information and
documentation, including identifying a
number of cases in which the State paid
over $500,000 in attorney fees and
litigation costs. Letter from Office of the
Arizona Attorney General, Oct. 16,
2018. Arizona reported that the average
compensation of postconviction capital
counsel in Maricopa County exceeds
$165,000, that the average compensation
in Pima County exceeds $110,000, and
that even smaller counties spend
significantly more than $20,000 per
case.
Public comments on Arizona’s
submissions state that Arizona’s
examples and data are variously
irrelevant, ambiguous, unrepresentative,
misleading, incomplete, and inaccurate;
that the average and high-end case
figures mask or highlight variations
among counties and cases, which may
involve relatively low levels of
compensation; and that use of the
median instead of the mean yields lower
representative figures.
I do not find it necessary to resolve
the conflicting factual claims because I
find Arizona’s compensation
mechanism to be adequate under
chapter 154, as the Ninth Circuit
concluded in Spears, on uncontroverted
grounds discussed above, and for
additional reasons I discuss below in
connection with the Department’s
regulations.
2. Counsel Compensation in the
Department’s Regulations
Turning to the implementing
regulations for chapter 154, 28 CFR
26.22(c) provides that a State’s
‘‘mechanism must provide for
compensation of appointed counsel.’’
The regulation provides four benchmark
criteria and says that a State’s provision
for compensation is presumptively
adequate if it is comparable to or
exceeds any of the benchmarks. The
benchmarks are: (i) Compensation of
appointed capital federal habeas
counsel; (ii) compensation of retained
state postconviction capital counsel
meeting state standards of competency;
(iii) compensation of appointed state
capital trial or appellate counsel; and
(iv) compensation of state attorneys in
state capital postconviction
proceedings, taking account of relative
overhead costs. See 28 CFR 26.22(c)(1).
The rule further states in section
26.22(c)(2) that provisions for
compensation not satisfying the
benchmark criteria will be deemed
adequate only if the state mechanism is
otherwise reasonably designed to ensure
the availability for appointment of
counsel who meet state standards of
competency sufficient under section
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26.22(b). See 78 FR at 58172–73, 58179–
80 (further explaining the regulatory
provisions). The rule preamble explains
that section 26.22(c)(2) recognizes that
compensation provisions ‘‘have been
deemed adequate for purposes of
chapter 154 . . . independent of any
comparison to the benchmarks in
paragraph (c)(1),’’ citing the Spears
decision and Arizona’s hourly rate of up
to $100 by way of illustration. 78 FR at
58180.
Arizona’s 2017 letter says that
postconviction capital representation is
provided by two classes of lawyers who
are compensated differently. See Letter
from Office of the Arizona Attorney
General, Nov. 27, 2017, at 2. This is
consistent with the rule. See 78 FR at
58180 (‘‘A State may . . . provide for
compensation of different counsel or
classes of counsel in conformity with
different standards.’’).
One of the classes is ‘‘[c]ounsel
employed by publicly-funded offices’’
who ‘‘are compensated by salary.’’
Letter from Office of the Arizona
Attorney General, Nov. 27, 2017, at 2.
This is adequate under section
26.22(c)(2); such personnel do not
require financial incentives beyond
their salaries to provide representation
in capital postconviction proceedings.
See 78 FR at 58180 (noting, in relation
to section 26.22(c)(2), that ‘‘a State may
secure representation for indigent
capital petitioners in postconviction
proceedings by means not dependent on
any special financial incentive for
accepting appointments, such as by
providing sufficient salaried public
defender personnel to competently carry
out such assignments as part of their
duties’’).
With respect to private counsel, the
information I have received from the
State and public comments is
insufficient to enable me to determine
whether Arizona’s mechanism for
compensation has satisfied the
benchmarks of section 26.22(c)(1)
because it does not include comparative
information for the benchmarks’
reference points—such as compensation
of trial and appellate counsel, and
compensation of attorneys representing
the State in postconviction
proceedings—for all parts of the State
throughout the period of the
certification. I accordingly consider
whether the mechanism is reasonably
designed to ensure the availability for
appointment of counsel meeting the
State’s standards of competency for
appointment, as provided in section
26.22(c)(2).
Some comments maintained that
Arizona’s provision for compensation is
inadequate because between 1998 and
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2013 there was a presumptive limit of
200 compensable hours, implying a
$20,000 limit on total compensation at
the maximum $100 hourly rate. That
presumptive limit is consistent with the
rule, however, because there were
means for authorizing compensation
beyond the presumptive maximum.
Indeed, the rule preamble cited the
Ninth Circuit’s approval in Spears of
Arizona’s presumptive 200-hour limit
because, as the Ninth Circuit observed,
compensation was available for work
beyond that limit if reasonable. 78 FR at
58180.
Variations in compensation among
cases and counties, which were noted in
the State’s submissions and the public
comments, do not call into question the
adequacy of Arizona’s compensation
mechanism under the rule’s standard. It
would be unreasonable to expect
attorneys’ compensation to be similar in
all cases, because different cases require
different amounts of work, depending
on their particular issues and
characteristics. Aggregate and average
compensation may vary in different
geographic areas because of differences
among counties in the nature and
number of capital cases or other factors.
Whatever the reasons for such
variations, Arizona’s mechanism has
authorized and does authorize, on a
statewide basis, compensation of
counsel at a rate of up to $100 an hour,
with no inflexible limit on the number
of hours that can be compensated.
Chapter 154 does not require greater
statewide uniformity in compensation
and there are no requirements for
certification beyond those that chapter
154 states. See 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(3).
Finally, some commenters argued that
section 26.22(c)(2) is not satisfied on the
ground that Arizona’s $100 hourly rate
has been inadequate to attract counsel
who perform adequately in practice. As
discussed above, the State disputes the
commenters’ claims of systemic
inadequacies in the performance of
counsel, and reviewing counsel’s
performance in particular cases is not
among the Attorney General’s functions
under chapter 154. Moreover, the
criterion under section 26.22(c)(2) is
whether the State’s provision for
compensation is ‘‘reasonably designed
to ensure the availability for
appointment of counsel who meet State
standards of competency sufficient
under [section 26.22(b)],’’ which refers
to the standards for appointment under
the State’s capital counsel mechanism.
Arizona has been able to recruit
attorneys who were found by the
appointing authority to satisfy these
standards. Commenters maintain that
such counsel have been appointed only
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after excessive delays, but timeliness of
appointment is a different issue that I
discuss separately below.
Accordingly, I find that Arizona’s
provision for compensation of
appointed postconviction capital
counsel satisfies the requirements of
chapter 154.
E. Payment of Reasonable Litigation
Expenses
Chapter 154 requires the Attorney
General to determine whether a State
has established a mechanism for
payment of reasonable litigation
expenses of appointed postconviction
capital counsel. 28 U.S.C. 2265(a).
Arizona’s mechanism provides for the
payment of reasonable litigation
expenses in Arizona Revised Statutes
sections 13–4041(G), (I), and 13–
4013(B).
In Spears, the Ninth Circuit found
that Arizona’s provisions for payment of
reasonable litigation expenses—which
have not changed in the intervening
years in any material respect— were
adequate under chapter 154. See 283
F.3d at 1016. The Ninth Circuit
reasoned that chapter 154 requires
‘‘only that the state mechanism provide
for the payment of reasonable litigation
expenses’’ and ‘‘assumes that a state can
assess reasonableness as part of its
process.’’ Id. Nothing has transpired
since Spears that calls this conclusion
into question, notwithstanding
comments claiming that expense
payments in Arizona are too low and
that the level of such payments varies
among cases and in different parts of the
State. Chapter 154 has not at any time
required payment of any particular
quantum of expenses and it has not
provided that a State lacks a qualifying
mechanism if different amounts of
expenses are found to be reasonable in
different areas or cases. Differences
among cases may result from different
needs for investigation, expert
witnesses, and other resources,
depending on the characteristics of the
individual case. Differences among
counties may result from differences in
the nature and number of capital cases,
differences in cost-of-living and wages,
and other factors. Whatever the reasons
for such variations, Arizona Revised
Statutes sections 13–4041(G), (I), and
13–4013(B) provide for payment of
reasonable litigation expenses on a
statewide basis, which satisfies chapter
154’s requirement. Spears did not go
beyond chapter 154 to require more
definite criteria or greater statewide
uniformity in the payment of litigation
expenses, and adding to chapter 154’s
express requirements is now barred. See
28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(3).
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A frequent point of criticism in the
public comments was that Arizona’s
provisions regarding payment of
litigation expenses include both
mandatory and permissive language.
Compare Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13–4041(G)
(court ‘‘shall’’ review and approve all
reasonable fees and costs) with id. 13–
4041(I) (court ‘‘may’’ authorize
additional monies to pay for reasonably
necessary investigative and expert
services). The same variation in
language existed when the Ninth Circuit
decided Spears, however, and the court
understood these provisions to
‘‘requir[e] the payment of reasonable
costs, as well as reasonable fees to
investigators and experts, whenever the
court deemed them reasonably
necessary.’’ 283 F.3d at 1016. Chapter
154 requires a mechanism for payment
of reasonable litigation expenses but
does not say that all of a State’s
provisions relating to the matter must
use facially mandatory language.
Notably, in the same act that added
chapter 154 to title 28 of the United
States Code, Congress changed the
wording of the provision for payment of
reasonably necessary litigation expenses
in federal capital cases, and in federal
habeas corpus review of state capital
cases, from ‘‘shall’’ to ‘‘may.’’ See
Ayestas v. Davis, 138 S. Ct. 1080, 1087,
1094 (2018) (regarding 18 U.S.C. 3599(f),
formerly designated 21 U.S.C.
848(q)(9)). It is implausible that
Congress, in chapter 154, would have
rejected the propriety of the term ‘‘may’’
while at the same time using the term
‘‘may’’ in a nearby, related provision.
Arizona denies that the variation in
language is significant, and it has not
been shown that Arizona courts
interpret the term ‘‘may’’ to afford
boundless discretion to refuse to pay for
expenses that are reasonably necessary.
Consequently, I find no basis for
doubting the continuing validity of the
Ninth Circuit’s determination in Spears
that Arizona has a mechanism for
payment of reasonable litigation
expenses of postconviction capital
counsel as required by chapter 154. Nor
do the Department’s regulations provide
any basis for a contrary conclusion.
Following the statutory requirement,
paragraph (d) of 28 CFR 26.22 provides
that a state capital counsel mechanism
must provide for payment of reasonable
litigation expenses of appointed
counsel. The paragraph provides a
nonexhaustive list of types of litigation
expenses. It further states that
presumptive limits on payment are
allowed but only if means are
authorized for payment of necessary
expenses above such limits.
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Arizona has explained that it
‘‘provides for payment of all reasonable
litigation expenses, such as for
investigative and expert assistance, as
required by 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(1)(A) and
28 CFR 26.22(d).’’ Letter from Office of
the Arizona Attorney General, Nov. 27,
2017, at 2. This is correct. Arizona’s
provisions for payment of reasonable
litigation expenses do not exclude
payment for any types of reasonable
litigation expenses, including those
listed in section 26.22(d), and do not
have presumptive limits on the amount
of payment. Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13–4041(G),
(I); id. 13–4013(B).
Some comments objected that judges
have denied postconviction counsel’s
requests for payment of litigation
expenses in some cases, that county
expense systems may fail to provide
adequate resources, and that there are
no more definite standards to ensure
statewide uniformity in payment of
litigation expenses. However, the rule
does not require state judges or other
authorities to agree in all instances that
the litigation expenses counsel wants
are reasonably necessary, and it does
not authorize or require the Attorney
General to second-guess their
determinations.
Rather, it is sufficient under the rule
if the capital counsel mechanism
provides for payment of reasonable
litigation expenses in general terms. In
this connection, the rule preamble
observed that the statutory directive to
the Attorney General is to determine
whether the State has established a
mechanism for the ‘‘payment of
reasonable litigation expenses.’’ 28
U.S.C. 2265(a)(1)(A). The preamble
noted that there was no persuasive
reason why a State should be denied
chapter 154 certification if its
mechanism requires the payment of
reasonable litigation expenses in terms
similar to chapter 154 itself, or at some
other level of generality less specific
than that urged by commenters on the
rule. The rulemaking cited the Ninth
Circuit’s reasoning in Spears, discussed
above, that chapter 154 ‘‘ ‘requires only
that the state mechanism provide for the
payment of reasonable litigation
expenses. The federal statute thus
assumes that a state can assess
reasonableness as part of its process.’ ’’
78 FR at 58173 (quoting Spears, 283
F.3d at 1016).
The submissions concerning
Arizona’s current request for
certification provided extensive
information about the practical
operation of the State’s mechanism for
payment of reasonable litigation
expenses. Arizona’s submissions
pointed to a number of cases in which
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payment of fees and litigation expenses
exceeded $500,000, and advised that the
average reimbursement for litigation
expenses was over $140,000 per case in
Maricopa County and over $50,000 per
case in Pima County. The rejoinder in
public comments was similar to that
concerning compensation,
characterizing Arizona’s examples and
data as variously irrelevant, ambiguous,
unrepresentative, misleading,
incomplete, and inaccurate; stating that
the average and high-end case figures
mask or highlight variations among
counties and cases, which may involve
relatively low levels of expense
payment; and that use of the median
instead of the mean yields lower
representative figures.
As with compensation, I find it
unnecessary to resolve these factual
disputes regarding the amounts
attorneys have received for litigation
expenses, and how these payments have
varied among different cases and
different parts of the State. For the
reasons explained above, Arizona’s
mechanism provides for the payment of
reasonable litigation expenses in a
manner that satisfies chapter 154’s
requirements.
F. Timeliness of Appointment
Chapter 154 does not specify a
timeline for appointment of
postconviction capital counsel.
Nevertheless, the issue of timeliness has
come up in judicial decisions, in the
Department’s regulations, and in the
public comments on Arizona’s request
for certification.
1. Historical Assessment of Timeliness
In Spears, the court acknowledged
that ‘‘the text of the statute does not
specify how soon after affirmance of a
defendant’s conviction and sentence the
state must extend its offer of postconviction counsel.’’ 283 F.3d at 1016.
Nevertheless, the court believed that a
requirement to offer counsel
‘‘expeditiously’’ was implicit in the
context of chapter 154 and its legislative
history. Id. The court then concluded
that this implicit requirement was
satisfied by an Arizona statutory
provision, existing at the time of the
appointment considered in that case,
that required appointment of
postconviction capital counsel within
15 days of the filing of the notice of
postconviction relief. See 283 F.3d at
1016–18.
Arizona law no longer requires
appointment of postconviction counsel
within a 15-day period. The change
could lead some to question whether
Arizona is now in compliance with the
implicit timeliness requirement
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discerned by the court in Spears.
Chapter 154 has since been amended,
however, to specify that ‘‘[t]here are no
requirements for certification or for
application of this chapter other than
those expressly stated in this chapter.’’
28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(3). Hence, whether
Arizona’s statutes in their current form
would satisfy the implicit timeliness
requirement discerned in Spears is
irrelevant to whether Arizona’s capital
counsel mechanism satisfies chapter
154’s current requirements.
The court in Spears also concluded
that Arizona was not entitled to the
benefit of chapter 154’s expedited
review procedures in the case before it,
notwithstanding its determination that
Arizona had in place a system meeting
the chapter 154 criteria, because ‘‘a state
must appoint counsel in compliance
with its own system before a federal
court will enforce the Chapter 154 time
line on its behalf in a particular case.’’
283 F.3d at 1018. The court noted that
counsel had not been appointed within
the then-existing 15-day timeframe
under Arizona’s statutes. Id. at 1018–19.
As discussed above, however, the
current provisions of chapter 154 assign
the determination whether a State has
appointed counsel in compliance with
its own system in a particular case to
the federal habeas court presented with
the case. It is not part of the Attorney
General’s determination whether the
State has established a capital counsel
mechanism satisfying the requirements
of chapter 154. See 28 U.S.C. 2261(b); 78
FR at 58166. Hence, this aspect of
Spears is also not relevant to my
determination whether Arizona’s capital
counsel mechanism satisfies chapter
154’s current requirements.
2. Timeliness Under Current Chapter
154
The regulations implementing chapter
154 define the term ‘‘appointment’’ to
include a timeliness requirement. See
28 CFR 26.21. Arizona’s mechanism
satisfies this requirement.
Specifically, section 26.21 defines
‘‘appointment’’ to mean ‘‘provision of
counsel in a manner that is reasonably
timely in light of the time limitations for
seeking State and Federal
postconviction review and the time
required for developing and presenting
claims in the postconviction
proceedings.’’ Id. The regulatory
interpretation of ‘‘appointment’’ is
related to chapter 154’s time limit for
applying for federal habeas corpus
review. As provided in 28 U.S.C. 2263,
an application for habeas corpus under
chapter 154 must be filed not later than
180 days from the date the conviction
and sentence become final on direct
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review, subject to tolling (i) during the
pendency of a petition for certiorari in
the Supreme Court, (ii) ‘‘from the date
on which the first petition for
postconviction review or other collateral
relief is filed until the final State court
disposition of such petition,’’ and (iii)
for an additional period not exceeding
30 days on a showing of good cause. 28
U.S.C. 2263. The second ground for
tolling allows the 180-day time limit to
run until a state postconviction petition
is filed and allows it to resume upon the
conclusion of state postconviction
proceedings. This effectively limits the
time available both to initiate state
postconviction proceedings and to file
for federal habeas corpus review
thereafter.
Against this background, the
Department’s rulemaking reflected a
concern that appointment of counsel
may not be meaningful unless it is
reasonably prompt. For if it is delayed,
little or no time may remain for the
prisoner to file a petition for state
postconviction review with the
assistance of counsel, and little or no
time may remain for the prisoner to
apply for federal habeas corpus review
after the conclusion of state
postconviction review. The rule
accordingly provides that appointment
in the context of chapter 154 means
appointment that is reasonably timely in
light of the time limitations for seeking
state and federal postconviction review
and the time required for developing
and presenting related claims. See 78 FR
58165–67, 58176–77.
Assessment of this issue in relation to
Arizona’s capital counsel mechanism
requires consideration of its procedures
relating to applications for
postconviction relief and appointment
of counsel. In a capital case, the time
limit for filing a state postconviction
petition begins to run with the filing of
a notice of postconviction relief. The
clerk of the Arizona Supreme Court files
the notice after the court issues its
mandate affirming the conviction and
sentence. The mandate is not issued
until the conclusion of any proceedings
for certiorari from the U.S. Supreme
Court. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13–4243(D);
Ariz. R. Crim. P. 31.22(c), 32.4(a)(2)(B),
(c)(1); see also Spears, 283 F.3d at 1011–
12, 1018.
The timing rules concerning
appointment of postconviction capital
counsel have existed in three forms
during the period considered in this
certification. Initially, the rules required
appointment of counsel within 15 days
from the filing of the notice of
postconviction relief. An amendment
preceding the Spears decision removed
the 15-day time frame. The current rules
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direct appointment of counsel after the
Arizona Supreme Court’s affirmance of
the conviction and sentence. See Ariz.
Rev. Stat. 13–4041(B); Ariz. R. Crim. P.
32.4(b)(1); Spears, 283 F.3d at 1000,
1012, 1018.
Thus, Arizona law currently allows
for the appointment of counsel as soon
as the Arizona Supreme Court affirms
the conviction and sentence. This
precedes the issuance of the Arizona
Supreme Court’s mandate and the filing
of the notice of postconviction relief,
which are deferred pending any petition
for certiorari from the U.S. Supreme
Court. If suitable counsel is not
available for appointment at that time,
the Arizona Supreme Court may avoid
prejudice to the defendant with respect
to the time available for seeking state
postconviction relief by delaying the
notice of postconviction relief or staying
the time limit for applying for
postconviction relief. See Letter from
the Office of the Arizona Attorney
General, Oct. 16, 2018, at 10–11. The
materials submitted by the State and
public commenters include numerous
Arizona Supreme Court orders that
show that the time limit for seeking
state postconviction relief was
suspended pending the appointment of
counsel.
Whether this process results in timely
appointment of counsel, as defined in
the Department’s regulations, presents
different issues in relation to state
postconviction filing and federal habeas
filing. I discuss these matters separately.
3. State Postconviction Filing
Comments on the issue of timeliness
in appointment agree that any delays in
the appointment of counsel in Arizona
do not prevent timely filing of state
postconviction petitions. See Letter
from AFPD, Nov. 5, 2018, at 16–17
(commenter ‘‘agrees that Arizona’s
delays in appointing postconviction
counsel will not prevent a prisoner from
filing a first state petition for
postconviction review’’); Letter from
AFPD, Jan. 7, 2019, at 27 (commenter
‘‘does not generally disagree’’ that
‘‘delays in appointing postconviction
counsel will not prevent a prisoner from
filing a timely first state petition for
postconviction review’’). The comments
nevertheless contend that ‘‘Arizona’s
customary practice’’ of appointing
counsel in a manner allowing the timely
filing of state postconviction petitions
‘‘cannot substitute for a valid statewide
mechanism that mandates timely
appointment’’ because ‘‘[a] practice can
change at any time and is not governed
by rule or statute.’’ Id. at 27–28 n.15.
Chapter 154 does not require that the
elements of a qualifying capital counsel
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mechanism be adopted or articulated in
any particular manner or form. Chapter
154 originally included language that
made the chapter applicable if a State
established a qualifying capital counsel
mechanism by ‘‘statute’’ or by ‘‘rule of
its court of last resort.’’ See 28 U.S.C.
2261(b), 2265(a) (1996). In two
decisions, the Ninth Circuit deemed
California’s capital counsel mechanism
inadequate under chapter 154 because it
was not fully articulated in a ‘‘statute’’
or ‘‘rule,’’ dismissing as insufficient
other ‘‘policy,’’ ‘‘practice,’’ or
‘‘compliance in practice’’ by the
California Supreme Court. See Ashmus
v. Woodford, 202 F.3d 1160, 1165–66,
1169 (9th Cir. 2000); Ashmus v.
Calderon, 123 F.3d at 1207–08.
Congress reacted by amending chapter
154 to eliminate the statute-or-rule
language. See Public Law 109–177, sec.
507, 120 Stat. at 250–51; see also 152
Cong. Rec. at 2446 (remarks of Sen. Kyl)
(‘‘The ‘statute or rule of court’ language
construed so severely by Ashmus is
removed, allowing the States flexibility
on how to establish the mechanism
within the State’s judicial structure.’’);
78 FR at 58164–65; 73 FR at 75332,
75334. Consequently, conceding that
Arizona appoints counsel in a manner
that allows prisoners to file timely state
postconviction petitions, but
characterizing this aspect of Arizona’s
system as a ‘‘customary practice,’’ does
not negate the State’s satisfaction of
chapter 154’s requirements.
Moreover, the comment that
customary practices can change at any
time does not establish a material
difference from rules and statutes,
because rules and statutes can also
change over time, by action of the
rulemaking authority or the legislature.
If such a change occurs, its significance
may be addressed in a future request for
recertification of the State’s mechanism.
See 78 FR at 58181; 28 CFR 26.23(d).
Regardless of the form of the relevant
policy, speculation that a future change
in Arizona’s mechanism will deny
prisoners adequate time to seek state
postconviction review because of delay
in the appointment of counsel does not
bear on my determination that Arizona’s
existing mechanism is consistent with
chapter 154’s requirements as
interpreted in the Department’s
regulations. Arizona has in fact
‘‘established a mechanism for the
appointment . . . of . . . counsel,’’ 28
U.S.C. 2265(a)(1)(A), ‘‘in a manner that
is reasonably timely in light of the time
limitation[] for seeking State . . .
postconviction review,’’ 28 CFR 26.21.
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4. Federal Habeas Filing
I next consider the question of timely
appointment of counsel with respect to
the time available for seeking state and
federal postconviction review under 28
U.S.C. 2263.
In assessing this question, I start with
the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Isley v.
Arizona Department of Corrections, 383
F.3d 1054 (9th Cir. 2004). In that case,
the court considered a similar issue in
relation to the general time limit for
federal habeas filing under 28 U.S.C.
2244(d). Section 2244(d) parallels 28
U.S.C. 2263 in relevant respects,
providing that its limitation period
normally starts to run at the conclusion
of direct review, but is tolled during the
time period in which ‘‘a properly filed
application for State post-conviction or
other collateral review . . . is pending.’’
28 U.S.C. 2244(d)(2). The question
presented was whether the relevant
application for state postconviction
review is the defendant’s ‘‘notice of
post-conviction relief’’ or his later-filed
petition for post-conviction relief. See
Isley, 383 F.3d at 1055–56.
The court concluded that the earlier
notice of postconviction relief was the
relevant filing that stopped the clock.
The court reasoned that the notice of
postconviction relief is ‘‘a critical stage’’
that ‘‘set[s] in motion’’ Arizona’s
postconviction review mechanism and
begins the running of the time limit for
filing the formal petition for
postconviction relief. Id. at 1055–56.
Consequently, ‘‘Isley’s state petition was
‘pending’ within the meaning of 28
U.S.C. 2244(d)(2),’’ and he was entitled
to tolling, from the date the notice of
postconviction relief was filed. Id at
1056.
In capital cases, Arizona does not
place on the defendant the burden of
filing the notice of postconviction relief
that initiates postconviction review
proceedings. Instead, it directs the clerk
of the Arizona Supreme Court to file the
notice of postconviction relief once the
Arizona Supreme Court has issued its
mandate affirming the conviction and
sentence in capital cases. See Ariz. Rev.
Stat. 13–4041(B), 13–4234(D). It is this
filing that commences the state
postconviction proceedings and tolls the
federal habeas time limit. See Isley, 383
F.3d at 1056.
The Isley understanding of the trigger
for tolling the federal habeas time limit
is logical whether the applicable time
limit is provided by section 2244(d) or
section 2263. It resolves the concern
that delay in the appointment of
counsel, and consequent delay in filing
a clock-stopping formal petition, will
result in the erosion or expiration of the
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time to seek federal habeas relief, which
would bring into play the timeliness
concerns underlying the definition of
appointment in 28 CFR 26.21.
As noted above, comments on this
issue ‘‘agree that Arizona’s delays in
appointing postconviction counsel will
not prevent a prisoner from filing a first
state petition for postconviction relief,’’
but they question whether the same is
true with respect to filing a federal
habeas petition. Letter from AFPD, Nov.
5, 2018, at 16–18. The underlying
concern is that, under Isley, ‘‘the Notice
tolls the [federal] statute of limitations’’
but ‘‘it is unclear whether it does the
same under Chapter 154.’’ Letter from
AFPD, Feb. 22, 2018, at 138. The
comments point in this connection to a
statement in Spears, 283 F.3d at 1017,
that ‘‘the statute does not provide for the
[statute of limitations] to be tolled
during the time a petitioner is awaiting
appointment of counsel.’’ Letter from
AFPD, Feb. 22, 2018, at 138; see id. at
157–58.
However, the court in Spears did not
consider the possibility that, in the
context of Arizona’s system, it is the
notice of postconviction relief, rather
than a later filing presenting the
defendant’s claims for relief, that
commences state postconviction
proceedings and tolls the federal time
limit. When the Ninth Circuit was
presented with this question two years
later in Isley, it held that the notice is
the critical filing. As discussed above, it
would be illogical to distinguish
between section 2244(d) and section
2263 in this regard, and there is no
reason to believe that federal habeas
courts will do so.
More broadly, I expect that the federal
courts will interpret and apply section
2263 fairly so as to afford prisoners
under sentence of death a reasonable
amount of time to seek state and federal
postconviction review, as they have
done with the general federal habeas
time limit under section 2244(d) and the
corresponding time limit for motions by
federal prisoners under 28 U.S.C. 2255.
See, e.g., Goodman v. United States, 151
F.3d 1335, 1337 (11th Cir. 1998).
Speculation to the contrary provides no
ground for concluding that Arizona’s
mechanism fails to satisfy the rule’s
requirement of reasonably timely
appointment.
Many of the public comments
provided information about the time
required for appointment of
postconviction capital counsel in
Arizona. Prisoners under sentence of
death in Arizona often stated, in their
comments, how long it took to appoint
counsel in their individual cases. AFPD
advised that the average delay in
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appointment of counsel from the
Arizona Supreme Court’s decision
affirming a capital case to the
appointment was 711 days from 2000 to
2011 and 256 days from 2011 to the
present. See Letter from AFPD, Feb. 22,
2018, at 140.
These figures are uninformative,
however, regarding satisfaction of 28
CFR 26.21’s timeliness requirement,
because the time limits for state and
federal postconviction review do not
run continuously from the date of the
Arizona Supreme Court’s decision
affirming a capital conviction and
sentence. Ascertaining whether
Arizona’s mechanism provides for
reasonably timely appointment,
considering the time limits for seeking
state and federal postconviction review
and the time required for developing
and presenting related claims, requires
a more discriminating analysis of the
rules and policies affecting the time
available for filing postconviction
petitions and their interaction with the
timing of the appointment of counsel.
This analysis, as set forth above,
indicates that Arizona’s mechanism
does provide for appointment of counsel
that is reasonably timely in the relevant
sense.
Finally, there is no concern about
executions being carried out in Arizona
during delay in the appointment of
postconviction counsel, because
Arizona does not carry out executions
prior to the conclusion of the initial
state postconviction proceedings. See
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13–759(A).
Consequently, Arizona’s capital
counsel mechanism comports with the
definition of appointment in section
26.21, including its timeliness
requirement.
III. Date the Mechanism Was
Established
Arizona has requested that I
determine that it established its
qualifying capital counsel mechanism as
of July 17, 1998, referring to the date of
appointment of postconviction counsel
for the defendant in Spears, the case in
which the Ninth Circuit determined that
Arizona had established a mechanism
satisfying the requirements of chapter
154. However, the elements of the
mechanism approved by the Ninth
Circuit in Spears were in place as of
May 19, 1998. Specifically, the final
element was the amendment of Arizona
Revised Statutes section 13–4041
relating to compensation and payment
of litigation expenses, which became
effective on May 19, 1998. See 1998
Ariz. Sess. Laws, Ch. 120, sec. 1.
Consequently, I determine that the date
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Arizona established the mechanism I
now certify is May 19, 1998.
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Some of the public comments
opposed certification of Arizona’s
mechanism on grounds that amounted
to criticisms of chapter 154 itself, often
relating to chapter 154’s time limit for
federal habeas filing or its time limits
for federal habeas courts to complete the
adjudication of capital habeas petitions.
Granting certification as requested by
the State, they maintained, with the
resulting applicability of chapter 154’s
federal habeas review procedures,
would have unconstitutional or unfair
effects on capital defendants in Arizona.
My responsibility under chapter 154
is to determine whether a State has
established a postconviction capital
counsel mechanism that satisfies the
chapter’s requirements. It is not to
entertain constitutional challenges or
policy objections to the underlying
statutes. Nevertheless, I will address
these objections because they have been
raised as grounds for denying
certification to Arizona and because
they misrepresent chapter 154 itself and
the Constitution as it bears on the
validity of chapter 154.
Before turning to particular issues, I
note by way of background that, at the
time of the Powell Committee Report in
1989, the average delay between
imposition and execution of a capital
sentence was about 8 years. Since that
time, the average delay between
imposition and execution of a capital
sentence has increased, standing at
around 20 years (243 months) at the end
of 2017. In relation to Arizona, in
particular, the submissions elicited by
the State’s request for chapter 154
certification show capital cases in
which the litigation has continued for
more than 20 years. On a nationwide
basis, there were 2,703 prisoners under
sentence of death at the end of 2017—
and 23 executions were carried out in
that year. See Bureau of Justice
Statistics, Capital Punishment, 2017:
Selected Findings, at 2 tbl. 1; id. at 4 tbl.
3. Thus, the litigation problems to
which chapter 154 is addressed have
compounded over time, with profound
effects on the justice system’s ability to
use the sanction of capital punishment
for the gravest crimes.
A. Time Limits Under Chapter 154
As noted above, the criticisms of
chapter 154 in the public comments
largely relate to the chapter’s time
limitation rules for federal habeas
litigation in capital cases.
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1. Time Limit for Federal Habeas Filing
Some commenters objected to the
180-day time limit for federal habeas
filing under 28 U.S.C. 2263, which is
shorter than the 1-year period under 28
U.S.C. 2244(d). The possibility that a
shorter time limit might apply to
pending cases following a certification,
commenters stated, creates difficulty in
advising clients and leads to the hasty
filing of pro forma petitions for
protective reasons. They expressed the
concern that application of the reduced
time limit may result in retrospective
determinations that federal habeas
filings, though consistent with the
currently applicable section 2244(d)
time limit, were untimely under section
2263 and subject to dismissal on that
basis. Consequently, they maintain,
certifying Arizona’s capital counsel
mechanism may deny prisoners due
process or result in the execution of
prisoners who would have obtained
relief had their claims been heard.
Commenters also raised other objections
to section 2263, including that its time
limit is too short to allow adequate
investigation and preparation of claims
or to secure evidence of their clients’
innocence, or that the section 2263 time
limit’s starting point will leave
insufficient time for seeking
postconviction review when taken in
conjunction with the timing rules for
the U.S. Supreme Court’s certiorari
process.
Regarding uncertainty about the time
limit that will apply, that possibility is
inherent in Congress’s design of the
statutory scheme for federal habeas
review and the fact that Congress
sometimes decides to make changes.
Essentially the same issue was
presented by the enactment in 1996 of
28 U.S.C. 2244(d), which created a 1year time limit for federal habeas filing,
where there had previously been no
time limit for federal habeas filing.
Courts did not apply the new section
2244(d) time limit so as to unfairly bar
petitions filed in existing cases, but
rather ensured the availability of the 1year period to all petitioners. See, e.g.,
Calderon v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Cent.
Dist. of Cal., 128 F.3d 1283, 1287 (9th
Cir. 1997); see also Calderon v. Ashmus,
523 U.S. at 748 & n.3 (explaining that
uncertainty about applicable time limit
does not confer standing to challenge
application of chapter 154); Habeas
Corpus Resource Ctr., 816 F.3d at 1250
(same, regarding challenge to
regulations implementing chapter 154).
I expect that the federal courts will
similarly apply the chapter 154 time
limit, where it is newly applicable, in a
manner that ensures fundamental
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fairness. However the courts address
this issue, it is not a matter under the
control of the Attorney General or the
State of Arizona, and it does not bear on
whether Arizona has established a
capital counsel mechanism satisfying
the requirements of chapter 154.
The same is true regarding such
matters as the adequacy of the time
provided for federal habeas filing under
chapter 154. Congress evidently
regarded the 180-day period for federal
habeas filing under 28 U.S.C. 2263,
subject to tolling, as adequate and
warranted, considering the availability
of counsel to the petitioner throughout
the state court litigation, and the unique
problem of litigation delay in capital
cases. See 137 Cong. Rec. at 6013; 135
Cong. Rec. at 24694–95, 24697–98
(Powell Committee Report). Congress
has broad authority under the
Constitution to determine federal habeas
procedure. See Felker v. Turpin, 518
U.S. 651, 664 (1996) (‘‘judgments about
the proper scope of the writ are
‘normally for Congress to make’ ’’)
(quoting Lonchar v. Thomas, 517 U.S.
314, 323 (1996)). Even if I were to
agree—and I do not—that such
adjustments of federal habeas procedure
are problematic on constitutional or
prudential grounds, I have no authority
to overrule Congress’s decisions in these
matters. Nor do I have authority to add
to chapter 154’s express requirements,
see 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(3), which
forecloses requiring the State to waive
chapter 154’s time limits—as some
commenters may wish—as a condition
of certification.
Noting that section 2263(b)(1) does
not provide for tolling until a petition
for certiorari is filed or the time for
seeking certiorari expires, some
comments expressed a concern that
much of the limitation period may be
consumed if the defendant does not
petition for certiorari soon after ‘‘final
State court affirmance of the conviction
and sentence on direct review.’’ 28
U.S.C. 2263(a). However, the comments
recognized that this will not occur if the
triggering event under section 2263(a) is
understood to be the Arizona Supreme
Court’s issuance of its mandate—which
does not occur until after the U.S.
Supreme Court’s certiorari process. The
interpretation of section 2263 on this
point is a matter under the control of the
federal courts, not the Attorney General
or the State of Arizona, and it does not
conflict with my determination that
Arizona has established a qualifying
capital counsel mechanism under
chapter 154.
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2. Time Limits for Federal Habeas
Adjudication
Beyond the criticisms of the chapter
154 time limit for federal habeas filings,
some comments objected that the 28
U.S.C. 2266 time limits for federal
district courts and courts of appeals to
adjudicate federal habeas petitions are
unfair and unconstitutional, contrasting
them to the longer periods of time that
federal courts typically take now in
adjudicating federal habeas petitions in
capital cases. Like the other
constitutional and policy critiques of
chapter 154 appearing in the public
comments, these comments do not bear
on the question I am charged with
answering: Whether Arizona has
established a capital counsel
mechanism satisfying chapter 154’s
requirements. And like the other
criticisms of chapter 154, these
objections are not well founded.
Defining rules of federal judicial
procedure is an exercise of legislative
power that the Constitution vests in
Congress. See Sibbach v. Wilson & Co.,
312 U.S. 1, 9–10 (1941) (‘‘Congress has
undoubted power to regulate the
practice and procedure of federal
courts’’) (footnote omitted). Congress
may delegate some rulemaking authority
to the courts, as it has done in the Rules
Enabling Act, 28 U.S.C. 2071–77, and
courts may decide such matters in
default of legislative action—neither of
which detracts from Congress’s
paramount authority in this area. See
id.; see also, e.g., Mistretta v. United
States, 488 U.S. 361, 386–88 (1989);
Palermo v. United States, 360 U.S. 343,
345–48 (1959). That includes the
authority to determine the procedures
for federal review of state prisoners’
applications for habeas corpus. See
Felker, 518 U.S. at 664; Lonchar, 517
U.S. at 323.
The principal timing rules for
adjudications under chapter 154 are as
follows: Section 2266(a) provides that
federal habeas applications subject to
chapter 154 are to be given priority by
the district court and by the court of
appeals over all noncapital matters.
Section 2266(b) provides that a district
court is to complete its adjudication of
a capital habeas petition within 450
days of filing or 60 days of submission
for decision, subject to a possible 30-day
extension. Section 2266(c) provides that
appellate panels are to render their
decisions within 120 days of completion
of briefing, that requests for rehearing or
rehearing en banc are to be decided
within 30 days of the request or a
responsive pleading, and that a
rehearing or rehearing en banc is to be
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decided within 120 days of the date it
is granted.
The public comments provided no
persuasive reason why these time
periods for adjudication should be
considered unreasonable or beyond
Congress’s authority over matters of
judicial procedure. Nor did the
comments provide any persuasive
reason to reach such a conclusion with
respect to the application of these time
limits to pending cases. In relation to
such cases, the sponsor of the 2006
amendments to chapter 154 explained
the application of the amendments’
effective-date provision, appearing in
section 507(d) of Public Law 109–177,
as starting the time limits when the
Attorney General certifies that the State
has established a qualifying capital
counsel mechanism. So understood,
they will not impose impossible
requirements on courts to conclude the
adjudication of pending capital cases
within time frames that have already
passed. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2449
(remarks of Sen. Kyl); cf. Br. for
Appellants at 22–23, Habeas Corpus
Resource Ctr. v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice,
816 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 2016) (No. 14–
16928) (explaining similar application
of section 2244(d) time limit to pending
cases).
Because protracted collateral
litigation impedes the execution of
capital sentences, it is reasonable for
Congress to provide that courts are to
prioritize these proceedings and to set
limits on their duration. See 152 Cong.
Rec. at 2441–48 (2006) (remarks of Sen.
Kyl); 151 Cong. Rec. at E2639 (extension
of remarks of Rep. Flake); 137 Cong.
Rec. at 6013–14 (legislative history); 135
Cong. Rec. at 24694–95 (Powell
Committee Report). If petitioners believe
that the time limits for adjudicating
petitions are unconstitutional as applied
to their cases, they may so argue to the
federal habeas courts that adjudicate
their petitions. However the courts may
rule on such claims, it has no bearing on
the question whether Arizona has
established a capital counsel
mechanism satisfying the requirements
of chapter 154.
3. Litigation Burdens
In addition to criticisms based on the
differences between the chapter 154
time limits and the time now required
for capital federal habeas litigation,
public comments expressed concerns
about novel litigation burdens under
chapter 154, such as having to litigate
under 28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(2) the question
whether the defendant’s state
postconviction counsel was appointed
pursuant to the certified state
mechanism. But litigation of this nature
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will not necessarily be common or
burdensome. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2446
(remarks of Sen. Kyl) (discussing
limited nature of inquiry).
Moreover, the critical comments did
not consider the ways in which the
application of chapter 154 may reduce
burdens for defense counsel. See 73 FR
at 75336 (‘‘the chapter 154 procedures
eliminate a number of burdens that
defense counsel would otherwise
bear’’). The differences include the
automatic stay provisions of 28 U.S.C.
2262, which should reduce the need to
engage in litigation over stays of
execution. Chapter 154 also provides, in
section 2264, clearer and tighter rules
concerning claims cognizable in federal
habeas review. This will relieve federal
habeas counsel of the need to develop
and present claims that may be
cognizable under the general habeas
rules but are not cognizable under
chapter 154. See 152 Cong. Rec. at
2448–49 (remarks of Sen. Kyl). Federal
habeas counsel will not need to litigate
questions concerning the exhaustion of
state remedies, and will be relieved of
other burdens incident to the movement
of cases between the state courts and the
federal courts resulting from the
exhaustion requirement of 28 U.S.C.
2254(b)–(c), because it does not apply
under chapter 154. See 28 U.S.C.
2264(b) (‘‘Following review subject to
subsections (a), (d), and (e) of section
2254, the court shall rule on the claims
properly before it.’’); see also 152 Cong.
Rec. at 2447–48 (remarks of Sen. Kyl);
135 Cong. Rec. at 24695, 24698 (Powell
Committee Report).
Likewise, chapter 154 reduces or
eliminates a number of burdens and
causes of delay for federal habeas
courts. The automatic stay provision
reduces the need to adjudicate requests
for stays of execution. Courts will not
need to review and decide claims that
are disallowed under section 2264.
Adjudication of questions concerning
exhaustion of state remedies will not be
required because the exhaustion
requirement does not apply under
chapter 154. For the same reason, delays
that result from sending unexhausted
claims back to state court for exhaustion
of state remedies will no longer occur.
Consequently, the time required
under currently applicable law for
counsel to prepare federal habeas
petitions, and for federal habeas courts
to complete their adjudications, are not
reliable indicators of how much time
will be needed under the chapter 154
procedures. Objections to certification
of Arizona’s mechanism premised on
the assumption that the time
requirements in either case must be
similar are not well-founded.
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B. Validity of the Implementing Rule
Some comments challenged the
implementing rule for chapter 154,
Subpart B of 28 CFR part 26, arguing
that it is invalid on procedural and
substantive grounds. These criticisms
are not well founded and in any event
do not bear on this certification. See Br.
for Appellants at 28–49 and Reply Br.
for Appellants at 15–28, Habeas Corpus
Resource Ctr. v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice,
816 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 2016) (No. 14–
16928).
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
C. Request for a Stay
Some comments asked that I stay my
certification of Arizona’s mechanism
pending judicial review of my
determination, arguing the matter on the
terms a court would consider in
deciding whether to order a stay—
likelihood that the determination will
be overturned on judicial review,
alleged irreparable harm to the
commenters and their clients, alleged
lack of harm to Arizona and other
interested parties, and the public
interest. Chapter 154 creates no
requirement that I grant a stay, however,
and I decline to do so.
Chapter 154 conditions its
applicability on the Attorney General’s
determination that a State has
established a capital counsel
mechanism satisfying its requirements—
not on the completion of judicial review
of my determination. See 28 U.S.C.
2261(b), 2265. Also, 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(1)(B), (a)(2) directs me to
determine the date on which the state
capital counsel mechanism was
established and makes that date the
effective date of the certification. Thus,
chapter 154 applies to cases in which
postconviction counsel was appointed
pursuant to the mechanism, though the
appointment occurred prior to the
publication of this notice. See 152 Cong.
Rec. at 2449 (remarks of Sen. Kyl)
(explaining effect of section 2265(a)(2));
151 Cong. Rec. at E2640 (extension of
remarks of Rep. Flake) (same); Habeas
Corpus Resource Ctr., 816 F.3d at 1245
(‘‘[t]he certification is effective as of the
date the Attorney General finds the state
established its adequate mechanism’’).
A stay would mean, however, that the
certification would not yet be effective
in relation to cases in which state
postconviction counsel was appointed
on or after May 19, 1998—
notwithstanding my determination that
Arizona established a capital counsel
mechanism satisfying chapter 154 on
that date—but would only take effect at
some unpredictable future time when
litigation relating to the certification has
run its course.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:26 Apr 13, 2020
Jkt 250001
Moreover, the commenters’ arguments
for a stay were not convincing. It is not
likely that a challenge to the
certification will prevail on the merits
because Arizona has in fact established
a mechanism satisfying the
requirements of chapter 154, as
explained in this notice. The Ninth
Circuit’s determination in Spears that
Arizona has established a capital
counsel mechanism satisfying the
requirements of chapter 154—a
mechanism that has not changed
materially since the time of that
decision—makes it particularly unlikely
that another court will reach a different
conclusion.
Even if there were a likelihood of a
challenge succeeding on the merits,
there is no public interest, or prospect
of irreparable injury, that justifies a stay.
The commenters’ claims on these points
largely relate to a concern that the time
available to seek federal habeas review
will be severely curtailed or eliminated
if the time limit of 28 U.S.C. 2263
becomes applicable. This concern is not
well founded and does not bear on the
validity of the certification as explained
above. Commenters also raised, in this
connection, criticisms of other aspects
of chapter 154, including provisions of
28 U.S.C. 2264 and 2266 that limit
review of procedurally defaulted claims
and amendment of petitions, and the
provisions that set time limits for
federal habeas courts to conclude their
review of state capital cases. These
features of chapter 154 are legislative
responses to the unique problems of
delay in capital litigation and are within
Congress’s constitutional authority over
matters of judicial procedure in federal
habeas review, as discussed above. The
litigation and adjudication of cases in
conformity with the applicable legal
rules are not sources of ‘‘injury’’
supporting a stay. All of these claims
amount to criticisms of chapter 154
itself. They may arise in future habeas
corpus litigation, but they do not bear
on the question before me. See Calderon
v. Ashmus, 523 U.S. at 746–49.
On the other side of the ledger,
Arizona will be harmed if it is denied
the benefits of the chapter 154 review
procedures, to which it is legally
entitled based on its establishment of a
capital counsel mechanism satisfying
the requirements of chapter 154. The
survivors of victims murdered by
persons under sentence of death in
Arizona will be harmed by a stay,
prolonging their suffering and further
denying them the closure of a final
disposition of the cases that concern
them. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2441–47
(remarks of Sen. Kyl); 151 Cong. Rec. at
E2639 (extension of remarks of Rep.
PO 00000
Frm 00060
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
20721
Flake). There will also be harm to any
persons under sentence of death in
Arizona who would be granted relief on
a final disposition of their federal
habeas petitions, but whose cases now
linger for years or decades because there
is no requirement that the cases be
accorded priority or concluded within
any time frame. As noted above, the
submissions elicited by Arizona’s
request for certification show instances
in which the litigation of Arizona
capital cases has continued for over 20
years. Staying the remediation Congress
has adopted, to which Arizona is
entitled, would be harmful to many and
not in the public interest.
Consequently, I do not stay my
certification of Arizona’s postconviction
capital counsel mechanism and the
effective date of the certification is May
19, 1998, in conformity with 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(2).
Dated: April 6, 2020.
William P. Barr,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 2020–07617 Filed 4–13–20; 8:45 am]
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[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 14, 2020)]
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[FR Doc No: 2020-07617]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
[Docket No. OAG-167; AG Order No. 4666-2020]
Certification of Arizona Capital Counsel Mechanism
AGENCY: Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Federal law makes certain procedural benefits available to
States in federal habeas corpus review of capital cases, where the
Attorney General certifies that the State has established a
postconviction capital counsel mechanism satisfying the chapter's
requirements. The Attorney General certifies in this notice that
Arizona has such a mechanism, which was established on May 19, 1998.
[[Page 20706]]
DATES: Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(2), the effective date of the
certification in this notice is May 19, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurence Rothenberg, Deputy Assistant
Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice,
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530; telephone (202) 532-
4465.
Certification: Chapter 154 of title 28, United States Code,
provides special federal habeas corpus review procedures for state
capital cases where (i) the Attorney General has certified that the
State has established a postconviction counsel appointment mechanism
for indigent capital defendants that meets the requirements stated in
the chapter, and (ii) counsel was appointed pursuant to the certified
mechanism, the defendant validly waived or retained counsel, or the
defendant was not indigent. 28 U.S.C. 2261(b). Chapter 154 directs the
Attorney General to determine, if requested by an appropriate state
official, whether the State has established a qualifying mechanism for
appointment of postconviction capital counsel, the date on which the
mechanism was established, and whether the State provides standards of
competency for such appointments. Id. Sec. 2265(a).
Having considered the relevant statutes, rules, and policies in
Arizona, submissions by the Arizona Attorney General, and the extensive
public comments thereon, and exercising the authority conferred on me
by 28 U.S.C. 2265, I determine and certify that Arizona has established
a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of
reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in state
postconviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners who have been
sentenced to death, including provision of standards of competency for
the appointment of counsel in such proceedings, which satisfies the
requirements of chapter 154. I further determine and certify that
Arizona had an established capital counsel mechanism satisfying the
requirements of chapter 154 as of May 19, 1998, and that Arizona has
continuously had a capital counsel mechanism satisfying the
requirements of chapter 154 since that date. Arizona has not requested
certification of its postconviction capital counsel mechanism as it was
prior to May 19, 1998, and this certification reflects no judgment or
opinion whether Arizona had a postconviction capital counsel mechanism
satisfying the requirements of chapter 154 before that date.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The remainder of this notice explains the
background of, and reasons for, my certification of Arizona's
postconviction capital counsel mechanism under the following headings:
I. Procedural History
II. Assessment of Arizona's Mechanism Under Chapter 154
A. Chapter 154--As Enacted in 1996 and As Amended in 2006
B. Appointment Requirement and Procedures
C. Counsel Competency
D. Compensation of Counsel
E. Payment of Reasonable Litigation Expenses
F. Timeliness of Appointment
III. Date the Mechanism Was Established
IV. Other Matters
A. Time Limits under Chapter 154
B. Validity of the Implementing Rule
C. Request for a Stay
I. Procedural History
Chapter 154 applies to cases arising under 28 U.S.C. 2254 brought
by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence if
``(1) the Attorney General of the United States certifies that a State
has established a mechanism for providing counsel in postconviction
proceedings as provided in section 2265,'' and ``(2) counsel was
appointed pursuant to that mechanism, petitioner validly waived
counsel, petitioner retained counsel, or petitioner was found not to be
indigent.'' 28 U.S.C. 2261(b). Where the chapter applies, federal
habeas review is conducted in conformity with special provisions
relating to stays of execution, the time available for federal habeas
filing, the scope of federal habeas review, and the time for completing
the adjudication of federal habeas petitions. See 28 U.S.C. 2262-66.
Chapter 154 derives from a proposal developed in 1989, under the
leadership of Justice Lewis F. Powell, to address the problem of
protracted and repetitive litigation in capital cases and to fill a gap
in representation for capital defendants at the stage of state
postconviction review. The proposal contemplated that more expeditious
procedures would apply, with greater finality, in federal habeas corpus
review of capital cases in States that appoint counsel for indigent
capital defendants in state collateral proceedings. See 135 Cong. Rec.
24694-98 (1989); 137 Cong. Rec. 6012-14 (1991); H.R. Rep. 104-23, at
10-11 (1995) (House Judiciary Committee Report).
Congress enacted chapter 154 as part of the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. See Public Law 104-132, sec.
107(a), 110 Stat. 1214, 1221-26. Under chapter 154 in its original
form, federal habeas courts determined the applicability of chapter
154's expedited federal habeas review procedures in the context of
adjudicating federal habeas petitions filed by state capital
defendants. Litigation relating to States' satisfaction of chapter
154's requirements ensued in various States, resulting in a substantial
body of district court and court of appeals precedent interpreting
chapter 154, as well as a related decision by the Supreme Court in
Calderon v. Ashmus, 523 U.S. 740 (1998).
In relation to Arizona, in particular, the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals, in Spears v. Stewart, 283 F.3d 992 (9th Cir. 2002), considered
the question with which I am now presented--whether Arizona has
established a postconviction capital counsel mechanism that satisfies
chapter 154's requirements. The Ninth Circuit answered that question in
the affirmative. See id. at 1008-18. However, the court concluded that
chapter 154's expedited federal habeas review procedures would not
apply in the case before it because Arizona had not appointed counsel
for petitioner in conformity with the mechanism. See id. at 1018-19.
In 2006, Congress enacted amendments that brought chapter 154 into
its current form. See Public Law 109-177, sec. 507, 120 Stat. 250, 250-
51 (codified in part at 28 U.S.C. 2265). The amendments transferred
responsibility for determining a State's satisfaction of chapter 154's
requirements from the regional federal courts to the Attorney General,
subject to de novo review by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. See 28
U.S.C. 2265. Under the revised scheme, the Attorney General, if
requested by an appropriate state official, makes a determination and
certification whether the State has established a postconviction
capital counsel mechanism satisfying the chapter's requirements, with
exclusive review of the certification by the D.C. Circuit. See 28
U.S.C. 2265(a), (c).
The 2006 amendments reflected a legislative judgment that the
Attorney General and the D.C. Circuit would best be able to make
disinterested determinations regarding state counsel systems'
satisfaction of chapter 154. The amendments also added a provision
stating that there are no requirements for certification or application
of chapter 154 other than those expressly stated in the chapter, 28
U.S.C. 2265(a)(3), reflecting congressional concern that some courts
had declined to apply chapter 154 on grounds going beyond those
Congress had deemed to be warranted in its formulation of
[[Page 20707]]
chapter 154, see 152 Cong. Rec. 2441, 2445-46 (2006) (remarks of Sen.
Kyl); 151 Cong. Rec. E2640 (daily ed. Dec. 22, 2005) (extension of
remarks of Rep. Flake).
Chapter 154 directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations
to implement the certification procedure. 28 U.S.C. 2265(b). Attorney
General Mukasey in 2008 issued an initial implementing rule for chapter
154. See 73 FR 75327, 75327-39 (Dec. 11, 2008). The original rule
tracked chapter 154's express requirements in light of 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(3)'s specification that ``[t]here are no requirements for
certification or for application of this chapter other than those
expressly stated in this chapter.'' Attorney General Holder rescinded
the original rule and replaced it in 2013 with the current rule. See 28
CFR 26.20-26.23; see also 78 FR 58160, 58160-84 (Sept. 23, 2013).
The regulations provide for the Attorney General to publish a
notice in the Federal Register of a State's requests for chapter 154
certification, to include solicitation of public comment on the
request, and for the Attorney General to review the request and
consider timely public comments received in response to the notice. 28
CFR 26.23(b)-(c). The certification procedure was delayed for a number
of years because a district court enjoined the regulations from taking
effect. The Ninth Circuit later vacated the injunction, allowing the
regulations to take effect. See Habeas Corpus Resource Ctr. v. U.S.
Dep't of Justice, 816 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S.
Ct. 1338 (2017).
Arizona has requested that the Attorney General certify its capital
counsel mechanism under chapter 154. The materials relating to
Arizona's request are available at www.justice.gov/olp/pending-requests-final-decisions. The main occurrences in the certification
process relating to Arizona have been as follows:
Arizona initially requested chapter 154 certification by letter
from its Attorney General dated April 18, 2013. After the Ninth Circuit
vacated the injunction against the certification process, the
Department of Justice (``Department'') published a notice in the
Federal Register inviting public comment on Arizona's request for
certification and providing a 60-day comment period. 82 FR 53529 (Nov.
16, 2017). Because of the passage of time since Arizona's original
request, the Department sent a letter to the Arizona Attorney General
dated November 16, 2017, advising of the publication, seeking
confirmation that the materials previously submitted by the State were
still current, and asking whether the State wished to supplement,
modify, or update its request for certification. The Arizona Attorney
General responded by letter of November 27, 2017, which provided
updated information. The Department then published a second notice,
which noted the updated request from Arizona and provided 60 days for
public comment running from publication of the notice. 82 FR 61329
(Dec. 27, 2017).
The Department received 140 comments from organizations and
individuals in response to these solicitations. The most extensive
comment was from the Federal Public Defender for the District of
Arizona (AFPD), consisting of a 163-page document and voluminous
exhibits. Other organizational commenters included the Arizona Capital
Representation Project, the American Bar Association, the Innocence
Project, the Arizona Justice Project, Federal Public Defenders, Arizona
Voice for Crime Victims, the Phillips Black Project, the American Civil
Liberties Union, and Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice. Many
comments were also received from persons under sentence of death in
Arizona or their lawyers.
On June 29, 2018, the Department sent a letter to the Arizona
Attorney General requesting that the State provide additional
information about its postconviction capital counsel mechanism, based
on questions that had arisen during the Department's review of the
State's request for certification and the public comments received. The
Arizona Attorney General sent a responsive letter on October 16, 2018.
The following month, the Department published a third notice to provide
an opportunity for public comment with respect to the additional
information the Arizona Attorney General had submitted. 83 FR 58786
(Nov. 21, 2018). The Department received 17 comments during the 45-day
comment period in response to this notice.
The ensuing section of this statement explains the basis for
granting chapter 154 certification to Arizona. I discuss initially
certain issues with cross-cutting significance and then analyze
Arizona's capital counsel mechanism in relation to the elements
required by chapter 154, including appointment, competency standards,
compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses for
postconviction capital counsel. With respect to each element, I (i)
identify the statutory basis of the requirement and the pertinent
Arizona laws and policies, (ii) review judicial precedent and its
continuing relevance (or not) given later changes in Arizona's
mechanism and chapter 154, and (iii) explain the interpretation of
chapter 154's requirements in the Department's regulations and
Arizona's satisfaction of these requirements as construed in the
regulations. The concluding section discusses additional matters,
including objections to certification of Arizona's mechanism based on
time limitation rules appearing in chapter 154, the validity of the
implementing rule, and a request that I stay the certification.
II. Assessment of Arizona's Mechanism Under Chapter 154
A. Chapter 154--As Enacted in 1996 and As Amended in 2006
Chapter 154 directs the Attorney General, if requested by an
appropriate state official, to determine (i) whether the State has
established a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment
of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in state
postconviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners who have been
sentenced to death, and (ii) whether the State provides standards of
competency for the appointment of such counsel. 28 U.S.C. 2265(a).
Additional specifications relating to the appointment of postconviction
counsel appear in 28 U.S.C. 2261(c)-(d).
As noted above, I do not write on a clean slate in addressing
Arizona's request for certification. Prior to 2006, the Attorney
General was not involved in chapter 154 determinations, which were
instead made by the federal courts entertaining federal habeas
petitions filed by state prisoners under sentence of death. In
particular, in 2002, the Ninth Circuit concluded that Arizona had
established a capital counsel mechanism satisfying chapter 154's
requirements. See Spears, 283 F.3d at 1007-19.
The analysis in Spears remains relevant because Arizona's capital
counsel mechanism has remained largely the same since the Ninth
Circuit's decision in that case, and the elements of an adequate state
capital counsel mechanism as required by chapter 154 are largely the
same as those required by chapter 154 at the time of that decision.
Moreover, the case law under chapter 154, and particularly Spears,
provided the background for the development of the Department's
implementing regulations for chapter 154 that I now apply. The judicial
precedent accordingly elucidates and supports many aspects of the
Department's rule in its application to Arizona. See, e.g., 78 FR at
58170, 58172, 58178, 58180.
[[Page 20708]]
Discussion of Spears and other decisions was also prominent in the
public comments on Arizona's request for certification. The comments
argued that aspects of the judicial decisions that would support
Arizona's certification should be considered no longer relevant or
applicable, based on changes in Arizona's capital counsel mechanism
over time or for other reasons, but they pointed to other aspects of
the decisions as still pertinent and as implying that certification
should be denied. I accordingly discuss below, in relation to each
required element of an adequate state capital counsel mechanism under
chapter 154, to what extent later changes affect the relevance of the
Ninth Circuit's decision and other judicial interpretations of chapter
154.
Before turning to the analysis of particular issues, I should
address public comments on Arizona's request for certification which
suggested that the Ninth Circuit's determination regarding Arizona's
capital counsel mechanism should be dismissed as dictum. The basis for
the objection is that the court in Spears found that Arizona's
mechanism satisfies chapter 154's requirements, but it nevertheless
denied the State the benefit of chapter 154's review procedures on the
ground that the State had not fully complied with its rules for
appointing counsel in that case. In Railroad Companies v. Schutte, 103
U.S. 118 (1880), the Supreme Court explained the precedential weight of
decisions of this nature:
It cannot be said that a case is not authority on one point
because, although that point was properly presented and decided in
the regular course of the consideration of the cause, something else
was found in the end which disposed of the whole matter. Here the
precise question was properly presented, fully argued, and
elaborately considered in the opinion. The decision on this question
was as much a part of the judgment of the court as was that on any
other of the several matters on which the case as a whole depended .
. . . If the decision is not conclusive on us, it is of high
authority under the circumstances, and we are not inclined to
disregard it. Id. at 143.
The Supreme Court's discussion in Schutte fits exactly the Ninth
Circuit's decision in Spears. I similarly view the Ninth Circuit's
determination that Arizona's mechanism satisfies chapter 154 as
persuasive authority of substantial weight and I am ``not inclined to
disregard it,'' id.
At the same time, I note a change in chapter 154 that makes my
analysis different in an important respect from the preceding judicial
consideration of these issues. Public comments opposing Arizona's
request for certification have noted judicial decisions that held that
a State could not receive the procedural benefits of chapter 154 in a
particular case if the State did not comply with the requirements of
its capital counsel mechanism in that case. See, e.g., Spears, 283 F.3d
at 1018-19 (failure to appoint counsel within time required by state
mechanism); Tucker v. Catoe, 221 F.3d 600, 604-05 (4th Cir. 2000)
(failure to appoint counsel meeting state competency standards). Based
on these decisions, the comments argued, I should deny Arizona's
request for certification if, for example, the State's competency
standards for appointment have not been consistently satisfied.
Judicial decisions of this nature, however, reflected the pre-2006
version of chapter 154, under which requests to apply chapter 154's
procedures were presented to federal habeas courts in particular cases.
In that posture, courts could consider both the general question
whether the State had established a mechanism satisfying chapter 154
and, if so, whether counsel for the petitioner in the particular case
had been appointed in compliance with that mechanism. Following the
2006 amendments to chapter 154, however, only the general certification
function is assigned to the Attorney General, see 28 U.S.C. 2265, and
ascertaining whether counsel was appointed pursuant to the certified
mechanism, as provided in section 2261(b)(2), is reserved to federal
habeas courts. See 78 FR at 58162-63, 58165. Consequently, comments
supposing that I must undertake case-specific review of the operation
of Arizona's mechanism, and deny certification based on asserted
deficiencies in practice, misapprehend the current division of labor
under chapter 154 between the Attorney General and federal habeas
courts.
B. Appointment Requirement and Procedures
Subsection (c) of 28 U.S.C. 2261 provides that a qualifying capital
counsel mechanism must offer postconviction counsel to all prisoners
under capital sentence and provide for court orders appointing such
counsel for indigent prisoners (absent waiver). Subsection (d) provides
that postconviction counsel may not be the trial counsel unless the
prisoner and trial counsel expressly request continued representation.
The Department's implementing regulations for chapter 154, 28 CFR
26.22(a), track these statutory requirements.
Arizona's capital counsel mechanism satisfies these requirements.
Its statutes and rules provide for the appointment by court order of
postconviction counsel for prisoners under sentence of death, unless
waived, and provide that postconviction counsel cannot be the same as
trial counsel unless the defendant and counsel expressly request
continued representation. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-4041(B)-(E) (``[T]he
supreme court . . . or . . . the presiding judge . . . shall appoint
counsel to represent the capital defendant in the state postconviction
relief proceeding . . . . Counsel . . . shall . . . [n]ot previously
have represented the capital defendant . . . in the trial court . . .
unless the defendant and counsel expressly request continued
representation . . . . [T]he capital defendant may . . . waive counsel
. . . . [i]f . . . knowing and voluntary . . . .''); id. 13-4234(D)
(``All indigent state prisoners under a capital sentence are entitled
to the appointment of counsel to represent them in state postconviction
proceedings. A competent indigent defendant may reject the offer of
counsel with an understanding of its legal consequence.''); Ariz. R.
Crim. P. 6.5(a) (``The court must appoint counsel by a written order .
. . .''); id. 32.4(b) (``After the Supreme Court has affirmed a capital
defendant's conviction and sentence, it must appoint counsel [for
postconviction proceedings] . . . . If the presiding judge makes an
appointment, the court must file a copy of the appointment order with
the Supreme Court.'').
In Spears, the Ninth Circuit concluded that the relevant Arizona
provisions, which did not differ significantly from their current
versions with respect to the 28 U.S.C. 2261(c)-(d) requirements,
satisfied this aspect of chapter 154. See 283 F.3d at 1009-12, 1017. I
agree that this continues to be the case.
C. Counsel Competency
Subsection (a) of 28 U.S.C. 2265 requires the Attorney General to
determine whether a State has established a mechanism for the
appointment of competent postconviction capital counsel and whether it
provides standards of competency for the appointment of such counsel.
Analysis of this issue includes consideration of federal and state
law on counsel competency standards, prior judicial assessment of
Arizona's standards, and various issues raised in the public comments
on Arizona's request for certification.
[[Page 20709]]
1. Counsel Competency Standards Under State and Federal Law
Arizona statutory provisions, in effect since 1996, regarding
eligibility for appointment as postconviction capital counsel, have
required that counsel (i) be a member in good standing of the state bar
for at least five years immediately preceding the appointment, and (ii)
have practiced in the area of state criminal appeals or postconviction
proceedings for at least three years immediately preceding the
appointment. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-4041(C). The statute directs the
Arizona Supreme Court to maintain a list of eligible attorneys and
authorizes the Arizona Supreme Court to establish by rule more
stringent standards of competency. See id. At the time of the decision
in Spears, there was also a provision--since repealed--allowing the
Arizona Supreme Court to appoint non-list counsel if no qualified
counsel were available. See Spears, 283 F.3d at 1009-10.
The experience requirements of the Arizona statute are similar to
counsel competency standards that Congress has adopted for federal
court proceedings in capital cases, including both federal habeas
corpus review of state capital cases and collateral proceedings under
28 U.S.C. 2255 in federal capital cases. See 18 U.S.C. 3599. The
federal standard for post-conviction counsel is not less than five
years of admission to practice and three years of experience in
handling felony appeals. Exceptions are allowed as provided in section
3599(d), which permits the court, for good cause, to appoint other
attorneys whose background, knowledge, or experience would otherwise
enable them to properly represent capital defendants. Under the
regulations implementing chapter 154 that I apply, and as a matter of
common sense, it is significant that a State has adopted experience
requirements similar to those that Congress has adopted for federal
court proceedings, because it is implausible that Congress would have
deemed inadequate under chapter 154 standards that it has deemed
adequate for the corresponding federal proceedings. See 78 FR at 58170.
In addition, the Arizona Supreme Court has adopted a rule, Ariz. R.
Crim. P. 6.8, that sets more stringent counsel competency standards
than those appearing in the state statute that emulates the federal
competency standards. At the time of the appointment considered in
Spears, the rule required appointed counsel: (i) To have been a member
in good standing of the Arizona Bar for at least five years immediately
before appointment; (ii) to have practiced state criminal litigation
for three years immediately before appointment; (iii) to have
demonstrated the necessary proficiency and commitment which exemplify
the quality of representation appropriate for capital cases; (iv)
within three years immediately before appointment, to have been lead
counsel in an appeal or postconviction proceeding in a capital case,
and have prior experience as lead counsel in the appeal of at least
three felony convictions and at least one postconviction proceeding
with an evidentiary hearing or have been lead counsel in the appeal of
at least six felony convictions, including at least two appeals from
murder convictions, and lead counsel in at least two postconviction
proceedings with evidentiary hearings; and (v) to have attended and
successfully completed within one year of appointment at least 12 hours
of relevant training or educational programs in the area of capital
defense. See Spears, 283 F.3d at 1010-11. The rule further provided
that postconviction capital counsel not fully satisfying these
qualifications may be appointed in exceptional circumstances, but only
if: (i) The Arizona Supreme Court consents, (ii) the attorney's
experience, stature, and record establish that the attorney's ability
significantly exceeds the full suite of qualifications, and (iii) the
attorney associates with a lawyer who does meet the rule's
qualifications. See Spears, 283 F.3d at 1010-11.
The Ninth Circuit concluded in Spears that these counsel competency
standards were sufficient under chapter 154. See id. at 1013-15. The
court noted that Congress did not envision any specific competency
standards but, rather, ``intended the states to have substantial
discretion to determine the substance of the competency standards.''
Id. at 1013. The court dismissed an objection based on the rule's
exception allowing the appointment of lawyers not meeting its specific
criteria, noting that the exception required that such a lawyer
significantly exceed those criteria and that the lawyer associated with
one who did meet the rule's qualifications. See id. The court also
dismissed an objection that the competency standards were insufficient
because they allowed appointment of lawyers without experience
defending a capital case, reasoning that ``[n]othing in 28 U.S.C.
2261(b) or in logic requires that a lawyer must have capital experience
to be competent.'' Id. Finally, the court dismissed an objection based
on the statutory allowance of other counsel if qualified counsel were
unavailable, because the Arizona Supreme Court had bound itself by the
rule it adopted to appoint counsel meeting the rule's standards. See
id. at 1012-15.
Arizona's postconviction capital counsel competency standards have
changed in some particulars during the period considered in this
certification. An amendment adopted in 2000--before the decision in
Spears but after the appointment considered in that case--changed the
training requirement to successful completion within one year before
initial appointment of at least six hours of relevant training or
education in the area of capital defense, and successful completion
within one year before any later appointment of at least 12 hours of
relevant training or education in the area of criminal defense. A
requirement was later added that counsel be familiar with and guided by
the American Bar Association guidelines for capital defense counsel.
And an amendment adopted in 2011 modified the detailed litigation
experience requirements in Rule 6.8, in places where the text had
required postconviction litigation experience, to require instead trial
or postconviction litigation experience.
As modified, Arizona's postconviction counsel competency standards
have continued to exceed the standards of 18 U.S.C. 3599, which
Congress has deemed adequate for postconviction counsel in federal
court proceedings in capital cases. Nevertheless, public comments on
Arizona's request for certification have questioned the current
relevance of Spears with respect to Arizona's counsel competency
standards, focusing mainly on the change in 2011 affecting the
requirement of postconviction litigation experience. These comments
were based on the 2011 amendment's addition of the following language
in Rule 6.8, underlined below in the current text of Rule 6.8(d):
(d) Post-Conviction Counsel. To be eligible for appointment as
post-conviction counsel, an attorney must meet the qualifications
set forth in (a) and the attorney must:
(1) Within 3 years immediately before the appointment, have been
lead counsel in a trial in which a death sentence was sought or in
an appeal or post-conviction proceeding in a case in which a death
sentence was imposed, and prior experience as lead counsel in the
appeal of at least three felony convictions and a trial or post-
conviction proceeding with an evidentiary hearing; or
(2) have been lead counsel in the appeal of at least 6 felony
convictions, including two appeals from first- or second-degree
murder convictions, and lead counsel in at least two
[[Page 20710]]
felony trials or post-conviction proceedings with evidentiary
hearings.
Nothing in Spears suggests that the modifications of Rule 6.8 since
1998--and in particular, the rule's allowance of trial or
postconviction litigation experience--place the rule beyond Arizona's
``substantial discretion to determine the substance of the competency
standards.'' Spears, 283 F.3d at 1007. Indeed, in an earlier case, the
Ninth Circuit considered this very question and concluded that
postconviction litigation experience is not a necessary element of
adequate counsel competency standards under chapter 154. See Ashmus v.
Calderon, 123 F.3d 1199, 1208 (9th Cir. 1997), rev'd on other grounds,
523 U.S. 740 (1998). Responding to a challenge to California's
standards because they did not require any familiarity with or
experience in postconviction litigation--referred to as ``habeas
corpus'' in California--the court observed that ``[m]any lawyers who
could competently represent a condemned prisoner would not qualify
under such a standard. We conclude a state's competency standards need
not require previous experience in habeas corpus litigation.'' Ashmus,
123 F.3d at 1208.
2. Counsel Competency in the Department's Regulations
Postconviction litigation experience is also not an essential
element of adequate counsel competency standards under the Department's
interpretation of this aspect of chapter 154. The Department's
regulations address counsel competency in 28 CFR 26.22(b), which says
that a State's ``mechanism must provide for appointment of competent
counsel as defined in State standards of competency for such
appointments.'' To aid in the determination regarding this requirement,
section 26.22(b)(1) provides two benchmark criteria and says that a
State's standards of competency are presumptively adequate if they meet
or exceed either of the benchmarks. Section 26.22(b)(2) further states
that competency standards not satisfying the benchmark criteria will be
deemed adequate only if they otherwise reasonably assure a level of
proficiency appropriate for State postconviction litigation in capital
cases.
In applying section 26.22(b)(2), the benchmark criteria continue to
function as reference points in the evaluation. State competency
standards that are likely to result in significantly lower levels of
proficiency than the benchmarks risk being found inadequate under
chapter 154, while state competency standards that are likely to result
in similar or even higher levels of proficiency than the benchmarks
weigh in favor of a finding of adequacy under chapter 154. See 78 FR at
58172, 58179.
The first benchmark criterion, appearing in section 26.22(b)(1)(i),
is appointment of counsel ``who have been admitted to the bar for at
least five years and have at least three years of postconviction
litigation experience.'' The basic standard is subject to the proviso
that ``a court, for good cause, may appoint other counsel whose
background, knowledge, or experience would otherwise enable them to
properly represent the petitioner, with due consideration of the
seriousness of the penalty and the unique and complex nature of the
litigation.'' 28 CFR 26.22(b)(1)(i).
Arizona's standards of competency for appointment, appearing in
Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 6.8(a)-(e), compare favorably to
section 26.22(b)(1)(i). Section 26.22(b)(1)(i) could be satisfied, for
example, by a lawyer admitted to the bar for five years who handled one
or two postconviction proceedings in which the litigation continued
over three years. It could be satisfied even if the postconviction
proceedings concerned offenses dissimilar from capital murder offenses
and even if the postconviction proceedings did not involve evidentiary
hearings. By comparison, Arizona requires, in addition to five years of
bar admission and three years of recent criminal litigation practice:
(i) Demonstrated proficiency and commitment exemplifying the quality of
representation appropriate for capital cases; (ii) relevant training or
education in the area of capital defense and other criminal defense;
(iii) familiarity with the American Bar Association guidelines for
capital defense counsel; and (iv) recent experience as lead counsel in
capital litigation with prior experience as lead counsel in at least
three felony appeals and a trial or postconviction proceeding with an
evidentiary hearing or experience as lead counsel in at least six
felony appeals, including two murder conviction appeals, and experience
as lead counsel in at least two felony trials or postconviction
proceedings with evidentiary hearings. See Ariz. R. Crim. P. 6.8(a),
(d).
The nature and extent of Arizona's standards of competency justify
the conclusion that they are ``likely to result in even higher levels
of proficiency,'' 78 FR at 58172, than the benchmark set forth in 28
CFR 26.22(b)(1)(i). The same was true of earlier iterations of
Arizona's counsel competency standards, which have evolved in some
respects as discussed above. It follows that Arizona's capital counsel
mechanism provides (and has provided) adequate standards of competency
for appointments. See 28 CFR 26.22(b)(2); see also 78 FR at 58172.
A number of public comments argued that Arizona's standards are
inadequate because, following the 2011 amendments to Rule 6.8, they do
not require postconviction litigation experience. These comments are of
a piece with those, discussed above, that attempted to distinguish
Spears on this ground. In relation to section 26.22(b)(2), the
objection assumes that postconviction litigation experience is
critical, if not essential, under the Department's rule.
The comments misunderstand the regulation. As explained above, in
applying section 26.22(b)(2), the benchmark criteria of section
26.22(b)(1) serve as reference points. The ``section 26.22(b)(1)(i)
[benchmark] is based on the qualification standards Congress has
adopted in 18 U.S.C. 3599 for appointment of counsel in Federal court
proceedings in capital cases'' and ``[t]he formulation of the benchmark
. . . does not take issue . . . with Congress's judgments regarding
counsel competency standards that are likely to be adequate.'' 78 FR at
58169. The federal statutory competency standards are themselves
appropriate reference points in assessing the adequacy of corresponding
state standards, because it is implausible that Congress would have
deemed inadequate for state postconviction proceedings standards
similar to those it has deemed adequate for federal postconviction
proceedings. See 78 FR at 58169-70. Significantly, 18 U.S.C. 3599 does
not require prior postconviction litigation experience. Rather, it
deems sufficient having prior experience in the litigation of felony
appeals. See id. As detailed above, Arizona's standards throughout the
timeframe of this certification have required substantial experience
litigating felony appeals.
Moreover, Arizona's competency standards do not deem appellate
experience alone to be sufficient but rather also require
postconviction litigation experience or trial experience. Where that
element of the standard is satisfied by trial experience rather than
postconviction experience, it remains relevant to postconviction
litigation, equipping postconviction counsel to assess the adequacy of
trial counsel's performance and enhancing his ability to raise in
postconviction proceedings claims of ineffectiveness of trial counsel
and other claims relating to the trial
[[Page 20711]]
proceedings. And, as discussed above, Arizona's standards have
consistently involved other requirements, going beyond both the section
22.62(b)(1)(i) benchmark and 18 U.S.C. 3599, which are relevant to
counsel's ability to provide competent representation in capital
postconviction proceedings.
3. Specific Criticisms
Some public comments objected that Arizona's qualification
standards are inadequate because Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure
6.8(e) (formerly 6.8(d)) allows the appointment of counsel who do not
meet some of the qualification standards, an allowance that the
comments say has been relied on in nearly 25 percent of capital cases
in Arizona. However, the proviso in Rule 6.8(e) is similar to language
in 28 CFR 26.22(b)(1)(i) and 18 U.S.C. 3599(d) that allows the court,
for good cause, to appoint counsel not satisfying the basic standard if
the attorney's background, knowledge, or experience would otherwise
enable him to properly represent the defendant. Indeed, the Rule 6.8(e)
proviso is narrower in some respects than the proviso in the federal
provisions in that it requires that: (i) The Arizona Supreme Court
consent to the appointment; (ii) the attorney satisfy certain of Rule
6.8's requirements, including successful completion of relevant
training or educational programs; (iii) the attorney's experience,
stature, and record establish that the attorney's ability significantly
exceeds the full set of qualification standards; and (iv) the attorney
associate with an attorney appointed by the court who fully meets the
standards of Rule 6.8. Ariz. R. Crim. P. 6.8(e)(1)-(4). Put simply,
Rule 6.8(e) requires more to ensure that appointed counsel will provide
competent representation than do its federal counterparts, and this has
been true throughout the timeframe of this certification.
Some comments argued that Arizona's counsel competency standards
are insufficient because they lack an appropriate appointing authority,
adequate training requirements, adequate qualitative evaluation, an
adequate system for monitoring the performance of counsel following
appointment, and adequate means to terminate the eligibility of counsel
whose performance is inadequate or who engages in misconduct. States
can qualify for chapter 154 certification by establishing capital
counsel mechanisms that incorporate elements addressing these matters.
See 78 FR at 58170-71. But neither the terms of chapter 154 and the
implementing regulations nor judicial precedent support the notion that
these things are required. Congress intended that States have
substantial discretion in defining competency standards under chapter
154. See Spears, 283 F.3d at 1012-13; 78 FR at 58170, 58172. Arizona's
competency standards are well within the bounds of its discretion, as
measured against 18 U.S.C. 3599(d), 28 CFR 26.22(b), and the judgment
in Spears.
Finally, some public comments argued that Arizona's competency
standards should be deemed inadequate in practice, alleging that many
appointed postconviction counsel in Arizona do not perform competently,
that some had not been considered proficient by a Maricopa County
selection committee for trial and appellate capital counsel, and that
the qualification requirements for appointment are not consistently
enforced. Comments of this nature also pointed to language in the rule
preamble that observed that a State may fail to establish in practice a
necessary element of its capital counsel mechanism and to judicial
decisions (preceding the transfer of the certification function to the
Attorney General) that concluded that States must comply with their
capital counsel mechanisms to have the benefit of the chapter 154
review procedures.
Arizona disagrees that there are systemic problems relating to the
competency of the State's appointed postconviction capital counsel.
Arizona asserts that the critical comments largely focus on 12
attorneys out of 86, none of whom have been disciplined, removed from
cases, or judicially determined to be incompetent based on their
alleged deficiencies. Arizona also asserts that the Arizona Supreme
Court need not agree with or defer to a committee of defense lawyers in
Maricopa County and can instead reasonably appoint postconviction
counsel who satisfy the State's competency standards in its own
judgment. Furthermore, regarding the comments' presentation of
criticisms by counsel involved in later stages of capital case
litigation, Arizona asserts that ``[r]arely . . . is there a capital
case in which habeas counsel does not raise new claims or fault the
work of earlier lawyers as flawed and ineffective'' but ``the strategy
has never succeeded'' with respect to ``any of the 12 attorneys at
issue.'' Letter from Office of the Arizona Attorney General, Oct. 16,
2018, at 8-10.
The critical comments on this issue misunderstand the allocation of
responsibilities under the current version of chapter 154 and the
Attorney General's function in making certification decisions.
Regarding a State's compliance with its own capital mechanism, the
current statutory scheme does not call for or allow case-specific
oversight by the Attorney General. As discussed above, following the
amendments that Congress enacted in 2006, chapter 154 includes only two
preconditions to its applicability in a particular case: ``The Attorney
General of the United States certifies that a State has established a
mechanism for providing counsel in postconviction proceedings as
provided in section 2265,'' 28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(1); and ``counsel was
appointed pursuant to that mechanism, petitioner validly waived
counsel, petitioner retained counsel, or petitioner was found not to be
indigent,'' id. 2261(b)(2). Only the general certification function
referenced in section 2261(b)(1), and set forth fully in section 2265,
is assigned to ``the Attorney General of the United States.''
Ascertaining whether counsel was appointed pursuant to the certified
mechanism, as provided in section 2261(b)(2), is reserved to federal
habeas courts, ``which can address individual irregularities and decide
whether the Federal habeas corpus review procedures of chapter 154 will
apply in particular cases.'' 78 FR at 58162.
In this regard, the current law differs from chapter 154 as it was
prior to the 2006 amendments, when requests to apply the chapter 154
federal habeas review procedures were presented to federal habeas
courts in the context of particular cases they were reviewing. Courts
in that posture considered whether the State had established a
mechanism satisfying chapter 154, and if so, whether counsel for the
petitioner in the particular case before the court had been appointed
in compliance with that mechanism. Consequently, if counsel had not
been appointed on collateral review in a particular case, or if the
attorney provided did not satisfy the State's competency standards for
such appointments, the courts could find chapter 154 inapplicable on
that basis, regardless of whether the State had established a capital
counsel mechanism that otherwise satisfied the requirements of chapter
154. See 78 FR at 58162-63, 58165; see also, e.g., Tucker, 221 F.3d at
604-05 (``We accordingly conclude that a State must not only enact a
`mechanism' and standards for postconviction review counsel, but those
mechanisms and standards must in fact be complied with before the State
may invoke the time limitations of 28 U.S.C. 2263.'').
In contrast, in entertaining a State's request for chapter 154
certification
[[Page 20712]]
under the current law, the Attorney General has no individual case
before him and is not responsible for determining whether a State has
complied with its mechanism in any particular case. Rather, as
discussed above, 28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(1) assigns to the Attorney General
the general certification function under chapter 154, which makes him
responsible for determining whether an appointment mechanism has been
established by the State and whether the State provides standards of
competency. If the state mechanism is certified, appointment of counsel
pursuant to the certified mechanism (absent waiver or retention of
counsel or a finding of non-indigence) continues to be a further
condition for the applicability of chapter 154. Whether that has
occurred in any individual case is, under 28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(2), a
matter to be decided by the federal habeas court to which the case is
presented, not the Attorney General. See 78 FR at 58162-63, 58165.
Likewise, the contention that the Attorney General should certify a
State's mechanism only if he is satisfied with the actual performance
of postconviction counsel following appointment misconceives the
Attorney General's role under the current law. Chapter 154 provides
that the Attorney General ``shall determine'' whether a State ``has
established a mechanism for the appointment . . . of competent
counsel'' in state capital postconviction proceedings, and whether the
State ``provides standards of competency for the appointment of
counsel'' in such proceedings. 28 U.S.C. 2265(a). The statute does not
provide that the Attorney General is to inquire into counsel's
performance following appointment in all or even some cases. Instead,
it frames its requirements regarding counsel competency as matters
relating to appointment, contemplating an inquiry into whether a State
has standards determining eligibility for appointment. See 78 FR at
58162-63, 58165. This understanding is supported by the Powell
Committee Report, the original reform proposal from which chapter 154
derives. The report explained that federal review would examine whether
a State's mechanism for appointing capital postconviction counsel
comports with the statutory requirements ``as opposed to [examining]
the competency of particular counsel.'' 135 Cong. Rec. at 24696. It
further explained that, in contrast to the focus on ``the performance
of a capital defendant's trial and appellate counsel,'' ``[t]he
effectiveness of State and Federal postconviction counsel is a matter
that can and must be dealt with in the appointment process.'' Id.; see
78 FR at 58162-63, 58165.
Regarding the ``establishment'' of a mechanism meeting chapter
154's requirements, 28 U.S.C. 2265(a), the rule's preamble posited that
the Attorney General might need to address situations involving ``a
wholesale failure to implement one or more material elements of a
mechanism described in a State's certification submission, such as when
a State's submission relying on section 26.22(b)(1)(ii) in the rule
points to a statute that authorizes a State agency to create and fund a
statewide attorney monitoring program, but the agency never actually
expends any funds, or expends funds to provide for monitoring of
attorneys in only a few of its cities.'' 78 FR at 58162-63. (The
section 26.22(b)(1)(ii) benchmark referenced in the example involves a
state post-appointment monitoring system, see 34 U.S.C.
60301(e)(2)(E)(i).) One could imagine similar situations in connection
with other chapter 154 requirements--for example, if a state statute
authorizes appointment and compensation of postconviction capital
counsel for indigent prisoners, but the state legislature never
appropriates any funds that can lawfully be used for that purpose.
As the preamble discussion makes clear, however, ``a wholesale
failure'' to implement a necessary element under chapter 154 is an
extreme situation, and no such situation exists or has existed with
respect to Arizona's appointment of postconviction counsel. ``Other
than in these situations, should they arise, questions of compliance by
a State with the standards of its capital counsel mechanism will be a
matter for the Federal habeas courts.'' 78 FR at 58163.
4. The Arizona Capital Postconviction Public Defender Office
Some comments suggested that Arizona's mechanism does not satisfy
chapter 154's counsel competency requirements because Arizona had,
between 2007 and 2011, a public postconviction capital counsel agency--
the Arizona Capital Postconviction Public Defender Office--and counsel
employed by that agency did not have to satisfy the standards of
competency for appointment under Rule 6.8. See Letter from Martin
Lieberman, Dec. 27, 2018; Letter from AFPD, Feb. 22, 2018, at 38-41.
This agency, which the commenters describe as inadequately funded and
ultimately unsuccessful, was created by legislation enacted in 2006
that provided for the agency's termination on July 1, 2011. 2006 Ariz.
Legis. Serv. Ch. 369, sec. 3, 4, 6. During the limited period of its
existence, the agency did not supplant Arizona's general capital
counsel mechanism, which continued to provide counsel for
postconviction representation outside of the few cases handled by the
agency. The comments relating to the agency do not go to the question
whether Arizona had a capital counsel mechanism adequate under chapter
154 before the agency's establishment or after its termination, but at
most to whether there was an intermediate period in 2007 to 2011 in
which it did not.
With respect to that period, the comments amount to a claim that
agency counsel were not appointed pursuant to the mechanism I now
certify in the few cases the agency handled, because the agency counsel
were not required to satisfy state standards of competency. Cf. Tucker,
221 F.3d at 604. Under the current formulation of chapter 154, such a
claim could be presented to the federal habeas court under 28 U.S.C.
2261(b)(2) in the cases in which the agency provided postconviction
representation and, if found to have merit, it could provide a basis
for finding chapter 154's review procedures inapplicable in those
cases. It does not have implications outside of those cases or affect
my determination that Arizona has had a mechanism for appointment of
postconviction counsel satisfying chapter 154's requirements
continuously since May 19, 1998.
I also conclude that Arizona has had a capital counsel mechanism
adequate under chapter 154 continuously since May 19, 1998, because
Arizona's capital counsel mechanism in the period between 2007 and 2011
comprised its general mechanism established in 1998 together with the
provision for representation by the public agency. Arizona law required
that the agency's Director meet or exceed the Rule 6.8 competency
standards. 2006 Ariz. Legis. Serv. Ch. 369, sec. 7. The Director in
turn hired experienced attorneys who operated under his supervision.
See Letter from Martin Lieberman, Apr. 5, 2009, at 3. With respect to
the agency's staff counsel, hiring and employment by a dedicated office
whose function is capital postconviction representation, under a
Director having those qualifications, is a reasonable means of ensuring
proficiency appropriate for such representation. I therefore find that
this aspect of Arizona's mechanism satisfies section 26.22(b)(2).
The comments' criticisms relating to the public agency's funding do
not impugn this conclusion. Nor do they show a failure by Arizona to
satisfy chapter 154's other requirements,
[[Page 20713]]
relating to compensation and payment of reasonable litigation expenses,
which are fully discussed in the ensuing portions of this notice.
Rather, the information in the comments indicates that the agency was
generally able to limit its caseload to a level compatible with its
resources. Its attorneys were compensated by salary, which is allowed
under chapter 154 for public defender personnel. See Spears, 283 F.3d
at 1010 (requirement regarding hourly rate of compensation inapplicable
to counsel in publicly funded offices); 78 FR at 58180 (such counsel
may be compensated by salary). Litigation expenses were paid from the
agency's budget with the possibility of requesting additional funds
from the court. The comments state that a budgetary shortfall in 2009
resulted in delay in the processing of two cases. See Decl. of Martin
Lieberman, Dec. 26, 2017, at 2-4; Letter from Martin Lieberman, Apr. 5,
2009, at 3-4. But chapter 154 does not condition certification on all
cases being processed without delay.
5. International Issues
Beyond the general comments regarding Arizona's counsel competency
standards, the Government of Mexico submitted a comment asserting that
the Attorney General should deny certification because Arizona has no
provision ensuring that foreign national defendants receive competent
representation. See Letter from Amb. Jos[eacute] Antonio Zabalgoitia,
Jan. 5, 2017. The comment states that attorneys representing foreign
nationals need expertise specific to such clients, including expertise
regarding international law. See id. at 2-3. The comment further
asserts that foreign nationals present other special needs affecting
the requirements for competent representation, including defense teams
that can communicate in the defendant's native language, culturally
competent experts who can understand the defendant's cultural
background and work with him and his family in appropriate ways, and
foreign travel to investigate the defendant's circumstances and life in
his home country. See id.
The comment does not provide a basis for denying certification.
Prisoners under sentence of death could be divided into many
subcategories, each of which might benefit from representation by
lawyers with special expertise. But chapter 154 does not require that a
State define special competency standards for lawyers with respect to
each such class. Instead, it provides that a State must provide
standards of competency for appointment. See 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(1)(C).
The comment provides no persuasive reason to believe that lawyers
satisfying Arizona's standards for appointment will be unable to handle
competently any legal issues involved in representing foreign clients.
The counsel competency standards Congress has enacted for federal court
proceedings in capital cases, 18 U.S.C. 3599, impose no special
requirements for cases involving foreign defendants. It is implausible
that Congress intended to impose such requirements with respect to
state postconviction proceedings under chapter 154. Likewise, the
implementing rule for chapter 154 does not require special counsel
competency standards for cases involving foreign defendants. Neither of
the section 26.22(b)(1) benchmark criteria require special competency
standards for counsel representing foreign clients, and there is no
basis for reading such a requirement into the section 26.22(b)(2)
authorization of standards that otherwise reasonably assure a level of
proficiency appropriate for state capital postconviction litigation.
Other matters raised in this comment--relating to language skills,
culturally competent experts, and foreign travel--go to the question
whether Arizona provides for payment of reasonable litigation expenses.
I answer that question in the affirmative for reasons discussed in Part
II.E of this notice.
D. Compensation of Counsel
Chapter 154 requires the Attorney General to determine whether a
state has established a mechanism for the compensation of appointed
postconviction capital counsel. 28 U.S.C. 2265(a). Throughout the
period considered in this certification, Arizona Revised Statutes
section 13-4041 has provided that ``[u]nless counsel is employed by a
publicly funded office, counsel appointed to represent a capital
defendant in state postconviction relief proceedings shall be paid an
hourly rate of not to exceed one hundred dollars per hour.'' Ariz. Rev.
Stat. 13-4041(F). The statute has also consistently required the court
(or the court's designee) to approve reasonable fees and costs, and has
provided for recourse through a special action with the Arizona Supreme
Court where the attorney believes that the court has set an
unreasonably low hourly rate or the court found that the hours the
attorney spent were unreasonable. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-4041(G). The
statute formerly required that counsel establish good cause to receive
compensation for more than 200 hours of work--amounting to a
presumptive $20,000 cap on compensation at the maximum hourly rate of
$100--but legislation enacted in 2013 eliminated this limitation. See
2013 Ariz. Legis. Serv. Ch. 94.
1. Judicial Assessment of Compensation Under Chapter 154
In Spears, the Ninth Circuit ``conclude[d] that Arizona's
compensation mechanism complied with Chapter 154.'' 283 F.3d at 1015.
The court rejected petitioner's argument that the then-existing 200-
hour limit was ``unduly burdensome to appointed counsel,'' reasoning
that ``to receive compensation for hours beyond the threshold, the
lawyer need[ ] only to establish that he or she worked more than 200
hours on the case and that the time expended was reasonable.'' Id. The
court observed that ``[n]othing in Chapter 154 suggests that the
mechanism to ensure compensation must be a blank check. The statute
simply requires that the appointment mechanism reasonably compensate
counsel.'' Id. Consequently, consistent with chapter 154, ``a state can
require an appointed lawyer to account for the reasonableness of the
number of hours worked before it compensates that lawyer.'' Id.
Considering the State's submissions and the public comments
thereon, there appears to be agreement that the Arizona Supreme Court
consistently orders compensation at the maximum hourly rate of $100.
The comments noted, however, that the $100 hourly rate has not been
changed since 1998, during which time its real value has been eroded by
inflation. The comments pointed to recommendations that the hourly rate
be increased, with $125 sometimes mentioned as a more appropriate
figure.
As an initial matter, the reduction of the value of $100 by
inflation during the period of the certification does not imply that it
is now an inadequate maximum hourly rate. A State may establish a rate
of compensation high enough that it is adequate at the outset and
continues to be adequate even after inflation's erosion of its real
value over time. The hourly rate established by Arizona, in particular,
continues to be adequate under chapter 154.
Simple computation allows a general assessment of the remuneration
postconviction capital counsel may be afforded in Arizona. Assuming
that a regular work week is 40 hours, and that a regular work year
consists of about 50 weeks, the number of hours in a full year of work
is 2000. Applying
[[Page 20714]]
Arizona's maximum hourly rate of $100, postconviction counsel would
receive $4,000 for a week of full-time work on a capital case, and
would receive $200,000 for a year's work.
Judicial precedent finding state compensation inadequate under
chapter 154 has involved much more restrictive compensation provisions
than Arizona's. In Baker v. Corcoran, 220 F.3d 276 (4th Cir. 2000), the
Fourth Circuit concluded that Maryland's scheme failed to satisfy
chapter 154. Id. at 287. Maryland at the time compensated
postconviction capital counsel $30 per hour for out-of-court time and
$35 per hour for in-court time, subject to an overall cap of $12,500.
Id. at 285. Examining attorney overhead costs and the effects of the
hourly rates and fee cap, the court concluded that accepting
postconviction capital cases resulted in a net loss to attorneys. Id.
The court stated that ``[a] compensation system that results in
substantial losses to the appointed attorney or his firm simply cannot
be deemed adequate.'' Id. at 285-86.
The compensation scheme at issue in Baker bears no resemblance to
Arizona's system, which, as discussed above, may compensate
postconviction capital counsel $200,000 for a year's work (reckoned as
2,000 hours). Even assuming overhead costs of 40% of revenue for
private counsel, as a commenter suggested, the net authorized income
for a year of postconviction work in Arizona would be $120,000 (=
$200,000 - 40% x $200,000). This is far from the concern reflected in
Baker regarding attorneys having to operate at a substantial loss. See
220 F.3d at 285-86; see also Mata v. Johnson, 99 F.3d 1261, 1266 (5th
Cir. 1996) (finding that Texas's mechanism, which capped compensation
at $7,500 and expenses at $2,500, satisfied chapter 154 for those
elements), vacated in part on other grounds, 105 F.3d 209 (5th Cir.
1997).
Arizona's submissions provided extensive information about how
appointed counsel are compensated in practice. Arizona's 2017
application letter explained that ``[c]ounsel employed by publicly-
funded offices are compensated by salary'' and that ``[a]ppointed
private counsel are compensated at an hourly rate of up to $100 per
hour,'' as provided by statute. Letter from Office of the Arizona
Attorney General, Nov. 27, 2017, at 2. The application further reported
that ``Arizona regularly spends well over $200,000 in attorney fees and
litigation costs in capital post-conviction cases, and has spent over
$500,000 in more than one case.'' Id. In 2018, Arizona provided
additional information and documentation, including identifying a
number of cases in which the State paid over $500,000 in attorney fees
and litigation costs. Letter from Office of the Arizona Attorney
General, Oct. 16, 2018. Arizona reported that the average compensation
of postconviction capital counsel in Maricopa County exceeds $165,000,
that the average compensation in Pima County exceeds $110,000, and that
even smaller counties spend significantly more than $20,000 per case.
Public comments on Arizona's submissions state that Arizona's
examples and data are variously irrelevant, ambiguous,
unrepresentative, misleading, incomplete, and inaccurate; that the
average and high-end case figures mask or highlight variations among
counties and cases, which may involve relatively low levels of
compensation; and that use of the median instead of the mean yields
lower representative figures.
I do not find it necessary to resolve the conflicting factual
claims because I find Arizona's compensation mechanism to be adequate
under chapter 154, as the Ninth Circuit concluded in Spears, on
uncontroverted grounds discussed above, and for additional reasons I
discuss below in connection with the Department's regulations.
2. Counsel Compensation in the Department's Regulations
Turning to the implementing regulations for chapter 154, 28 CFR
26.22(c) provides that a State's ``mechanism must provide for
compensation of appointed counsel.'' The regulation provides four
benchmark criteria and says that a State's provision for compensation
is presumptively adequate if it is comparable to or exceeds any of the
benchmarks. The benchmarks are: (i) Compensation of appointed capital
federal habeas counsel; (ii) compensation of retained state
postconviction capital counsel meeting state standards of competency;
(iii) compensation of appointed state capital trial or appellate
counsel; and (iv) compensation of state attorneys in state capital
postconviction proceedings, taking account of relative overhead costs.
See 28 CFR 26.22(c)(1).
The rule further states in section 26.22(c)(2) that provisions for
compensation not satisfying the benchmark criteria will be deemed
adequate only if the state mechanism is otherwise reasonably designed
to ensure the availability for appointment of counsel who meet state
standards of competency sufficient under section 26.22(b). See 78 FR at
58172-73, 58179-80 (further explaining the regulatory provisions). The
rule preamble explains that section 26.22(c)(2) recognizes that
compensation provisions ``have been deemed adequate for purposes of
chapter 154 . . . independent of any comparison to the benchmarks in
paragraph (c)(1),'' citing the Spears decision and Arizona's hourly
rate of up to $100 by way of illustration. 78 FR at 58180.
Arizona's 2017 letter says that postconviction capital
representation is provided by two classes of lawyers who are
compensated differently. See Letter from Office of the Arizona Attorney
General, Nov. 27, 2017, at 2. This is consistent with the rule. See 78
FR at 58180 (``A State may . . . provide for compensation of different
counsel or classes of counsel in conformity with different
standards.'').
One of the classes is ``[c]ounsel employed by publicly-funded
offices'' who ``are compensated by salary.'' Letter from Office of the
Arizona Attorney General, Nov. 27, 2017, at 2. This is adequate under
section 26.22(c)(2); such personnel do not require financial incentives
beyond their salaries to provide representation in capital
postconviction proceedings. See 78 FR at 58180 (noting, in relation to
section 26.22(c)(2), that ``a State may secure representation for
indigent capital petitioners in postconviction proceedings by means not
dependent on any special financial incentive for accepting
appointments, such as by providing sufficient salaried public defender
personnel to competently carry out such assignments as part of their
duties'').
With respect to private counsel, the information I have received
from the State and public comments is insufficient to enable me to
determine whether Arizona's mechanism for compensation has satisfied
the benchmarks of section 26.22(c)(1) because it does not include
comparative information for the benchmarks' reference points--such as
compensation of trial and appellate counsel, and compensation of
attorneys representing the State in postconviction proceedings--for all
parts of the State throughout the period of the certification. I
accordingly consider whether the mechanism is reasonably designed to
ensure the availability for appointment of counsel meeting the State's
standards of competency for appointment, as provided in section
26.22(c)(2).
Some comments maintained that Arizona's provision for compensation
is inadequate because between 1998 and
[[Page 20715]]
2013 there was a presumptive limit of 200 compensable hours, implying a
$20,000 limit on total compensation at the maximum $100 hourly rate.
That presumptive limit is consistent with the rule, however, because
there were means for authorizing compensation beyond the presumptive
maximum. Indeed, the rule preamble cited the Ninth Circuit's approval
in Spears of Arizona's presumptive 200-hour limit because, as the Ninth
Circuit observed, compensation was available for work beyond that limit
if reasonable. 78 FR at 58180.
Variations in compensation among cases and counties, which were
noted in the State's submissions and the public comments, do not call
into question the adequacy of Arizona's compensation mechanism under
the rule's standard. It would be unreasonable to expect attorneys'
compensation to be similar in all cases, because different cases
require different amounts of work, depending on their particular issues
and characteristics. Aggregate and average compensation may vary in
different geographic areas because of differences among counties in the
nature and number of capital cases or other factors. Whatever the
reasons for such variations, Arizona's mechanism has authorized and
does authorize, on a statewide basis, compensation of counsel at a rate
of up to $100 an hour, with no inflexible limit on the number of hours
that can be compensated. Chapter 154 does not require greater statewide
uniformity in compensation and there are no requirements for
certification beyond those that chapter 154 states. See 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(3).
Finally, some commenters argued that section 26.22(c)(2) is not
satisfied on the ground that Arizona's $100 hourly rate has been
inadequate to attract counsel who perform adequately in practice. As
discussed above, the State disputes the commenters' claims of systemic
inadequacies in the performance of counsel, and reviewing counsel's
performance in particular cases is not among the Attorney General's
functions under chapter 154. Moreover, the criterion under section
26.22(c)(2) is whether the State's provision for compensation is
``reasonably designed to ensure the availability for appointment of
counsel who meet State standards of competency sufficient under
[section 26.22(b)],'' which refers to the standards for appointment
under the State's capital counsel mechanism. Arizona has been able to
recruit attorneys who were found by the appointing authority to satisfy
these standards. Commenters maintain that such counsel have been
appointed only after excessive delays, but timeliness of appointment is
a different issue that I discuss separately below.
Accordingly, I find that Arizona's provision for compensation of
appointed postconviction capital counsel satisfies the requirements of
chapter 154.
E. Payment of Reasonable Litigation Expenses
Chapter 154 requires the Attorney General to determine whether a
State has established a mechanism for payment of reasonable litigation
expenses of appointed postconviction capital counsel. 28 U.S.C.
2265(a). Arizona's mechanism provides for the payment of reasonable
litigation expenses in Arizona Revised Statutes sections 13-4041(G),
(I), and 13-4013(B).
In Spears, the Ninth Circuit found that Arizona's provisions for
payment of reasonable litigation expenses--which have not changed in
the intervening years in any material respect-- were adequate under
chapter 154. See 283 F.3d at 1016. The Ninth Circuit reasoned that
chapter 154 requires ``only that the state mechanism provide for the
payment of reasonable litigation expenses'' and ``assumes that a state
can assess reasonableness as part of its process.'' Id. Nothing has
transpired since Spears that calls this conclusion into question,
notwithstanding comments claiming that expense payments in Arizona are
too low and that the level of such payments varies among cases and in
different parts of the State. Chapter 154 has not at any time required
payment of any particular quantum of expenses and it has not provided
that a State lacks a qualifying mechanism if different amounts of
expenses are found to be reasonable in different areas or cases.
Differences among cases may result from different needs for
investigation, expert witnesses, and other resources, depending on the
characteristics of the individual case. Differences among counties may
result from differences in the nature and number of capital cases,
differences in cost-of-living and wages, and other factors. Whatever
the reasons for such variations, Arizona Revised Statutes sections 13-
4041(G), (I), and 13-4013(B) provide for payment of reasonable
litigation expenses on a statewide basis, which satisfies chapter 154's
requirement. Spears did not go beyond chapter 154 to require more
definite criteria or greater statewide uniformity in the payment of
litigation expenses, and adding to chapter 154's express requirements
is now barred. See 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(3).
A frequent point of criticism in the public comments was that
Arizona's provisions regarding payment of litigation expenses include
both mandatory and permissive language. Compare Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-
4041(G) (court ``shall'' review and approve all reasonable fees and
costs) with id. 13-4041(I) (court ``may'' authorize additional monies
to pay for reasonably necessary investigative and expert services). The
same variation in language existed when the Ninth Circuit decided
Spears, however, and the court understood these provisions to
``requir[e] the payment of reasonable costs, as well as reasonable fees
to investigators and experts, whenever the court deemed them reasonably
necessary.'' 283 F.3d at 1016. Chapter 154 requires a mechanism for
payment of reasonable litigation expenses but does not say that all of
a State's provisions relating to the matter must use facially mandatory
language. Notably, in the same act that added chapter 154 to title 28
of the United States Code, Congress changed the wording of the
provision for payment of reasonably necessary litigation expenses in
federal capital cases, and in federal habeas corpus review of state
capital cases, from ``shall'' to ``may.'' See Ayestas v. Davis, 138 S.
Ct. 1080, 1087, 1094 (2018) (regarding 18 U.S.C. 3599(f), formerly
designated 21 U.S.C. 848(q)(9)). It is implausible that Congress, in
chapter 154, would have rejected the propriety of the term ``may''
while at the same time using the term ``may'' in a nearby, related
provision. Arizona denies that the variation in language is
significant, and it has not been shown that Arizona courts interpret
the term ``may'' to afford boundless discretion to refuse to pay for
expenses that are reasonably necessary.
Consequently, I find no basis for doubting the continuing validity
of the Ninth Circuit's determination in Spears that Arizona has a
mechanism for payment of reasonable litigation expenses of
postconviction capital counsel as required by chapter 154. Nor do the
Department's regulations provide any basis for a contrary conclusion.
Following the statutory requirement, paragraph (d) of 28 CFR 26.22
provides that a state capital counsel mechanism must provide for
payment of reasonable litigation expenses of appointed counsel. The
paragraph provides a nonexhaustive list of types of litigation
expenses. It further states that presumptive limits on payment are
allowed but only if means are authorized for payment of necessary
expenses above such limits.
[[Page 20716]]
Arizona has explained that it ``provides for payment of all
reasonable litigation expenses, such as for investigative and expert
assistance, as required by 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(1)(A) and 28 CFR
26.22(d).'' Letter from Office of the Arizona Attorney General, Nov.
27, 2017, at 2. This is correct. Arizona's provisions for payment of
reasonable litigation expenses do not exclude payment for any types of
reasonable litigation expenses, including those listed in section
26.22(d), and do not have presumptive limits on the amount of payment.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-4041(G), (I); id. 13-4013(B).
Some comments objected that judges have denied postconviction
counsel's requests for payment of litigation expenses in some cases,
that county expense systems may fail to provide adequate resources, and
that there are no more definite standards to ensure statewide
uniformity in payment of litigation expenses. However, the rule does
not require state judges or other authorities to agree in all instances
that the litigation expenses counsel wants are reasonably necessary,
and it does not authorize or require the Attorney General to second-
guess their determinations.
Rather, it is sufficient under the rule if the capital counsel
mechanism provides for payment of reasonable litigation expenses in
general terms. In this connection, the rule preamble observed that the
statutory directive to the Attorney General is to determine whether the
State has established a mechanism for the ``payment of reasonable
litigation expenses.'' 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(1)(A). The preamble noted that
there was no persuasive reason why a State should be denied chapter 154
certification if its mechanism requires the payment of reasonable
litigation expenses in terms similar to chapter 154 itself, or at some
other level of generality less specific than that urged by commenters
on the rule. The rulemaking cited the Ninth Circuit's reasoning in
Spears, discussed above, that chapter 154 `` `requires only that the
state mechanism provide for the payment of reasonable litigation
expenses. The federal statute thus assumes that a state can assess
reasonableness as part of its process.' '' 78 FR at 58173 (quoting
Spears, 283 F.3d at 1016).
The submissions concerning Arizona's current request for
certification provided extensive information about the practical
operation of the State's mechanism for payment of reasonable litigation
expenses. Arizona's submissions pointed to a number of cases in which
payment of fees and litigation expenses exceeded $500,000, and advised
that the average reimbursement for litigation expenses was over
$140,000 per case in Maricopa County and over $50,000 per case in Pima
County. The rejoinder in public comments was similar to that concerning
compensation, characterizing Arizona's examples and data as variously
irrelevant, ambiguous, unrepresentative, misleading, incomplete, and
inaccurate; stating that the average and high-end case figures mask or
highlight variations among counties and cases, which may involve
relatively low levels of expense payment; and that use of the median
instead of the mean yields lower representative figures.
As with compensation, I find it unnecessary to resolve these
factual disputes regarding the amounts attorneys have received for
litigation expenses, and how these payments have varied among different
cases and different parts of the State. For the reasons explained
above, Arizona's mechanism provides for the payment of reasonable
litigation expenses in a manner that satisfies chapter 154's
requirements.
F. Timeliness of Appointment
Chapter 154 does not specify a timeline for appointment of
postconviction capital counsel. Nevertheless, the issue of timeliness
has come up in judicial decisions, in the Department's regulations, and
in the public comments on Arizona's request for certification.
1. Historical Assessment of Timeliness
In Spears, the court acknowledged that ``the text of the statute
does not specify how soon after affirmance of a defendant's conviction
and sentence the state must extend its offer of post-conviction
counsel.'' 283 F.3d at 1016. Nevertheless, the court believed that a
requirement to offer counsel ``expeditiously'' was implicit in the
context of chapter 154 and its legislative history. Id. The court then
concluded that this implicit requirement was satisfied by an Arizona
statutory provision, existing at the time of the appointment considered
in that case, that required appointment of postconviction capital
counsel within 15 days of the filing of the notice of postconviction
relief. See 283 F.3d at 1016-18.
Arizona law no longer requires appointment of postconviction
counsel within a 15-day period. The change could lead some to question
whether Arizona is now in compliance with the implicit timeliness
requirement discerned by the court in Spears. Chapter 154 has since
been amended, however, to specify that ``[t]here are no requirements
for certification or for application of this chapter other than those
expressly stated in this chapter.'' 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(3). Hence,
whether Arizona's statutes in their current form would satisfy the
implicit timeliness requirement discerned in Spears is irrelevant to
whether Arizona's capital counsel mechanism satisfies chapter 154's
current requirements.
The court in Spears also concluded that Arizona was not entitled to
the benefit of chapter 154's expedited review procedures in the case
before it, notwithstanding its determination that Arizona had in place
a system meeting the chapter 154 criteria, because ``a state must
appoint counsel in compliance with its own system before a federal
court will enforce the Chapter 154 time line on its behalf in a
particular case.'' 283 F.3d at 1018. The court noted that counsel had
not been appointed within the then-existing 15-day timeframe under
Arizona's statutes. Id. at 1018-19. As discussed above, however, the
current provisions of chapter 154 assign the determination whether a
State has appointed counsel in compliance with its own system in a
particular case to the federal habeas court presented with the case. It
is not part of the Attorney General's determination whether the State
has established a capital counsel mechanism satisfying the requirements
of chapter 154. See 28 U.S.C. 2261(b); 78 FR at 58166. Hence, this
aspect of Spears is also not relevant to my determination whether
Arizona's capital counsel mechanism satisfies chapter 154's current
requirements.
2. Timeliness Under Current Chapter 154
The regulations implementing chapter 154 define the term
``appointment'' to include a timeliness requirement. See 28 CFR 26.21.
Arizona's mechanism satisfies this requirement.
Specifically, section 26.21 defines ``appointment'' to mean
``provision of counsel in a manner that is reasonably timely in light
of the time limitations for seeking State and Federal postconviction
review and the time required for developing and presenting claims in
the postconviction proceedings.'' Id. The regulatory interpretation of
``appointment'' is related to chapter 154's time limit for applying for
federal habeas corpus review. As provided in 28 U.S.C. 2263, an
application for habeas corpus under chapter 154 must be filed not later
than 180 days from the date the conviction and sentence become final on
direct
[[Page 20717]]
review, subject to tolling (i) during the pendency of a petition for
certiorari in the Supreme Court, (ii) ``from the date on which the
first petition for postconviction review or other collateral relief is
filed until the final State court disposition of such petition,'' and
(iii) for an additional period not exceeding 30 days on a showing of
good cause. 28 U.S.C. 2263. The second ground for tolling allows the
180-day time limit to run until a state postconviction petition is
filed and allows it to resume upon the conclusion of state
postconviction proceedings. This effectively limits the time available
both to initiate state postconviction proceedings and to file for
federal habeas corpus review thereafter.
Against this background, the Department's rulemaking reflected a
concern that appointment of counsel may not be meaningful unless it is
reasonably prompt. For if it is delayed, little or no time may remain
for the prisoner to file a petition for state postconviction review
with the assistance of counsel, and little or no time may remain for
the prisoner to apply for federal habeas corpus review after the
conclusion of state postconviction review. The rule accordingly
provides that appointment in the context of chapter 154 means
appointment that is reasonably timely in light of the time limitations
for seeking state and federal postconviction review and the time
required for developing and presenting related claims. See 78 FR 58165-
67, 58176-77.
Assessment of this issue in relation to Arizona's capital counsel
mechanism requires consideration of its procedures relating to
applications for postconviction relief and appointment of counsel. In a
capital case, the time limit for filing a state postconviction petition
begins to run with the filing of a notice of postconviction relief. The
clerk of the Arizona Supreme Court files the notice after the court
issues its mandate affirming the conviction and sentence. The mandate
is not issued until the conclusion of any proceedings for certiorari
from the U.S. Supreme Court. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-4243(D); Ariz. R.
Crim. P. 31.22(c), 32.4(a)(2)(B), (c)(1); see also Spears, 283 F.3d at
1011-12, 1018.
The timing rules concerning appointment of postconviction capital
counsel have existed in three forms during the period considered in
this certification. Initially, the rules required appointment of
counsel within 15 days from the filing of the notice of postconviction
relief. An amendment preceding the Spears decision removed the 15-day
time frame. The current rules direct appointment of counsel after the
Arizona Supreme Court's affirmance of the conviction and sentence. See
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-4041(B); Ariz. R. Crim. P. 32.4(b)(1); Spears, 283
F.3d at 1000, 1012, 1018.
Thus, Arizona law currently allows for the appointment of counsel
as soon as the Arizona Supreme Court affirms the conviction and
sentence. This precedes the issuance of the Arizona Supreme Court's
mandate and the filing of the notice of postconviction relief, which
are deferred pending any petition for certiorari from the U.S. Supreme
Court. If suitable counsel is not available for appointment at that
time, the Arizona Supreme Court may avoid prejudice to the defendant
with respect to the time available for seeking state postconviction
relief by delaying the notice of postconviction relief or staying the
time limit for applying for postconviction relief. See Letter from the
Office of the Arizona Attorney General, Oct. 16, 2018, at 10-11. The
materials submitted by the State and public commenters include numerous
Arizona Supreme Court orders that show that the time limit for seeking
state postconviction relief was suspended pending the appointment of
counsel.
Whether this process results in timely appointment of counsel, as
defined in the Department's regulations, presents different issues in
relation to state postconviction filing and federal habeas filing. I
discuss these matters separately.
3. State Postconviction Filing
Comments on the issue of timeliness in appointment agree that any
delays in the appointment of counsel in Arizona do not prevent timely
filing of state postconviction petitions. See Letter from AFPD, Nov. 5,
2018, at 16-17 (commenter ``agrees that Arizona's delays in appointing
postconviction counsel will not prevent a prisoner from filing a first
state petition for postconviction review''); Letter from AFPD, Jan. 7,
2019, at 27 (commenter ``does not generally disagree'' that ``delays in
appointing postconviction counsel will not prevent a prisoner from
filing a timely first state petition for postconviction review''). The
comments nevertheless contend that ``Arizona's customary practice'' of
appointing counsel in a manner allowing the timely filing of state
postconviction petitions ``cannot substitute for a valid statewide
mechanism that mandates timely appointment'' because ``[a] practice can
change at any time and is not governed by rule or statute.'' Id. at 27-
28 n.15.
Chapter 154 does not require that the elements of a qualifying
capital counsel mechanism be adopted or articulated in any particular
manner or form. Chapter 154 originally included language that made the
chapter applicable if a State established a qualifying capital counsel
mechanism by ``statute'' or by ``rule of its court of last resort.''
See 28 U.S.C. 2261(b), 2265(a) (1996). In two decisions, the Ninth
Circuit deemed California's capital counsel mechanism inadequate under
chapter 154 because it was not fully articulated in a ``statute'' or
``rule,'' dismissing as insufficient other ``policy,'' ``practice,'' or
``compliance in practice'' by the California Supreme Court. See Ashmus
v. Woodford, 202 F.3d 1160, 1165-66, 1169 (9th Cir. 2000); Ashmus v.
Calderon, 123 F.3d at 1207-08. Congress reacted by amending chapter 154
to eliminate the statute-or-rule language. See Public Law 109-177, sec.
507, 120 Stat. at 250-51; see also 152 Cong. Rec. at 2446 (remarks of
Sen. Kyl) (``The `statute or rule of court' language construed so
severely by Ashmus is removed, allowing the States flexibility on how
to establish the mechanism within the State's judicial structure.'');
78 FR at 58164-65; 73 FR at 75332, 75334. Consequently, conceding that
Arizona appoints counsel in a manner that allows prisoners to file
timely state postconviction petitions, but characterizing this aspect
of Arizona's system as a ``customary practice,'' does not negate the
State's satisfaction of chapter 154's requirements.
Moreover, the comment that customary practices can change at any
time does not establish a material difference from rules and statutes,
because rules and statutes can also change over time, by action of the
rulemaking authority or the legislature. If such a change occurs, its
significance may be addressed in a future request for recertification
of the State's mechanism. See 78 FR at 58181; 28 CFR 26.23(d).
Regardless of the form of the relevant policy, speculation that a
future change in Arizona's mechanism will deny prisoners adequate time
to seek state postconviction review because of delay in the appointment
of counsel does not bear on my determination that Arizona's existing
mechanism is consistent with chapter 154's requirements as interpreted
in the Department's regulations. Arizona has in fact ``established a
mechanism for the appointment . . . of . . . counsel,'' 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(1)(A), ``in a manner that is reasonably timely in light of the
time limitation[] for seeking State . . . postconviction review,'' 28
CFR 26.21.
[[Page 20718]]
4. Federal Habeas Filing
I next consider the question of timely appointment of counsel with
respect to the time available for seeking state and federal
postconviction review under 28 U.S.C. 2263.
In assessing this question, I start with the Ninth Circuit's
decision in Isley v. Arizona Department of Corrections, 383 F.3d 1054
(9th Cir. 2004). In that case, the court considered a similar issue in
relation to the general time limit for federal habeas filing under 28
U.S.C. 2244(d). Section 2244(d) parallels 28 U.S.C. 2263 in relevant
respects, providing that its limitation period normally starts to run
at the conclusion of direct review, but is tolled during the time
period in which ``a properly filed application for State post-
conviction or other collateral review . . . is pending.'' 28 U.S.C.
2244(d)(2). The question presented was whether the relevant application
for state postconviction review is the defendant's ``notice of post-
conviction relief'' or his later-filed petition for post-conviction
relief. See Isley, 383 F.3d at 1055-56.
The court concluded that the earlier notice of postconviction
relief was the relevant filing that stopped the clock. The court
reasoned that the notice of postconviction relief is ``a critical
stage'' that ``set[s] in motion'' Arizona's postconviction review
mechanism and begins the running of the time limit for filing the
formal petition for postconviction relief. Id. at 1055-56.
Consequently, ``Isley's state petition was `pending' within the meaning
of 28 U.S.C. 2244(d)(2),'' and he was entitled to tolling, from the
date the notice of postconviction relief was filed. Id at 1056.
In capital cases, Arizona does not place on the defendant the
burden of filing the notice of postconviction relief that initiates
postconviction review proceedings. Instead, it directs the clerk of the
Arizona Supreme Court to file the notice of postconviction relief once
the Arizona Supreme Court has issued its mandate affirming the
conviction and sentence in capital cases. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-
4041(B), 13-4234(D). It is this filing that commences the state
postconviction proceedings and tolls the federal habeas time limit. See
Isley, 383 F.3d at 1056.
The Isley understanding of the trigger for tolling the federal
habeas time limit is logical whether the applicable time limit is
provided by section 2244(d) or section 2263. It resolves the concern
that delay in the appointment of counsel, and consequent delay in
filing a clock-stopping formal petition, will result in the erosion or
expiration of the time to seek federal habeas relief, which would bring
into play the timeliness concerns underlying the definition of
appointment in 28 CFR 26.21.
As noted above, comments on this issue ``agree that Arizona's
delays in appointing postconviction counsel will not prevent a prisoner
from filing a first state petition for postconviction relief,'' but
they question whether the same is true with respect to filing a federal
habeas petition. Letter from AFPD, Nov. 5, 2018, at 16-18. The
underlying concern is that, under Isley, ``the Notice tolls the
[federal] statute of limitations'' but ``it is unclear whether it does
the same under Chapter 154.'' Letter from AFPD, Feb. 22, 2018, at 138.
The comments point in this connection to a statement in Spears, 283
F.3d at 1017, that ``the statute does not provide for the [statute of
limitations] to be tolled during the time a petitioner is awaiting
appointment of counsel.'' Letter from AFPD, Feb. 22, 2018, at 138; see
id. at 157-58.
However, the court in Spears did not consider the possibility that,
in the context of Arizona's system, it is the notice of postconviction
relief, rather than a later filing presenting the defendant's claims
for relief, that commences state postconviction proceedings and tolls
the federal time limit. When the Ninth Circuit was presented with this
question two years later in Isley, it held that the notice is the
critical filing. As discussed above, it would be illogical to
distinguish between section 2244(d) and section 2263 in this regard,
and there is no reason to believe that federal habeas courts will do
so.
More broadly, I expect that the federal courts will interpret and
apply section 2263 fairly so as to afford prisoners under sentence of
death a reasonable amount of time to seek state and federal
postconviction review, as they have done with the general federal
habeas time limit under section 2244(d) and the corresponding time
limit for motions by federal prisoners under 28 U.S.C. 2255. See, e.g.,
Goodman v. United States, 151 F.3d 1335, 1337 (11th Cir. 1998).
Speculation to the contrary provides no ground for concluding that
Arizona's mechanism fails to satisfy the rule's requirement of
reasonably timely appointment.
Many of the public comments provided information about the time
required for appointment of postconviction capital counsel in Arizona.
Prisoners under sentence of death in Arizona often stated, in their
comments, how long it took to appoint counsel in their individual
cases. AFPD advised that the average delay in appointment of counsel
from the Arizona Supreme Court's decision affirming a capital case to
the appointment was 711 days from 2000 to 2011 and 256 days from 2011
to the present. See Letter from AFPD, Feb. 22, 2018, at 140.
These figures are uninformative, however, regarding satisfaction of
28 CFR 26.21's timeliness requirement, because the time limits for
state and federal postconviction review do not run continuously from
the date of the Arizona Supreme Court's decision affirming a capital
conviction and sentence. Ascertaining whether Arizona's mechanism
provides for reasonably timely appointment, considering the time limits
for seeking state and federal postconviction review and the time
required for developing and presenting related claims, requires a more
discriminating analysis of the rules and policies affecting the time
available for filing postconviction petitions and their interaction
with the timing of the appointment of counsel. This analysis, as set
forth above, indicates that Arizona's mechanism does provide for
appointment of counsel that is reasonably timely in the relevant sense.
Finally, there is no concern about executions being carried out in
Arizona during delay in the appointment of postconviction counsel,
because Arizona does not carry out executions prior to the conclusion
of the initial state postconviction proceedings. See Ariz. Rev. Stat.
13-759(A).
Consequently, Arizona's capital counsel mechanism comports with the
definition of appointment in section 26.21, including its timeliness
requirement.
III. Date the Mechanism Was Established
Arizona has requested that I determine that it established its
qualifying capital counsel mechanism as of July 17, 1998, referring to
the date of appointment of postconviction counsel for the defendant in
Spears, the case in which the Ninth Circuit determined that Arizona had
established a mechanism satisfying the requirements of chapter 154.
However, the elements of the mechanism approved by the Ninth Circuit in
Spears were in place as of May 19, 1998. Specifically, the final
element was the amendment of Arizona Revised Statutes section 13-4041
relating to compensation and payment of litigation expenses, which
became effective on May 19, 1998. See 1998 Ariz. Sess. Laws, Ch. 120,
sec. 1. Consequently, I determine that the date
[[Page 20719]]
Arizona established the mechanism I now certify is May 19, 1998.
IV. Other Matters
Some of the public comments opposed certification of Arizona's
mechanism on grounds that amounted to criticisms of chapter 154 itself,
often relating to chapter 154's time limit for federal habeas filing or
its time limits for federal habeas courts to complete the adjudication
of capital habeas petitions. Granting certification as requested by the
State, they maintained, with the resulting applicability of chapter
154's federal habeas review procedures, would have unconstitutional or
unfair effects on capital defendants in Arizona.
My responsibility under chapter 154 is to determine whether a State
has established a postconviction capital counsel mechanism that
satisfies the chapter's requirements. It is not to entertain
constitutional challenges or policy objections to the underlying
statutes. Nevertheless, I will address these objections because they
have been raised as grounds for denying certification to Arizona and
because they misrepresent chapter 154 itself and the Constitution as it
bears on the validity of chapter 154.
Before turning to particular issues, I note by way of background
that, at the time of the Powell Committee Report in 1989, the average
delay between imposition and execution of a capital sentence was about
8 years. Since that time, the average delay between imposition and
execution of a capital sentence has increased, standing at around 20
years (243 months) at the end of 2017. In relation to Arizona, in
particular, the submissions elicited by the State's request for chapter
154 certification show capital cases in which the litigation has
continued for more than 20 years. On a nationwide basis, there were
2,703 prisoners under sentence of death at the end of 2017--and 23
executions were carried out in that year. See Bureau of Justice
Statistics, Capital Punishment, 2017: Selected Findings, at 2 tbl. 1;
id. at 4 tbl. 3. Thus, the litigation problems to which chapter 154 is
addressed have compounded over time, with profound effects on the
justice system's ability to use the sanction of capital punishment for
the gravest crimes.
A. Time Limits Under Chapter 154
As noted above, the criticisms of chapter 154 in the public
comments largely relate to the chapter's time limitation rules for
federal habeas litigation in capital cases.
1. Time Limit for Federal Habeas Filing
Some commenters objected to the 180-day time limit for federal
habeas filing under 28 U.S.C. 2263, which is shorter than the 1-year
period under 28 U.S.C. 2244(d). The possibility that a shorter time
limit might apply to pending cases following a certification,
commenters stated, creates difficulty in advising clients and leads to
the hasty filing of pro forma petitions for protective reasons. They
expressed the concern that application of the reduced time limit may
result in retrospective determinations that federal habeas filings,
though consistent with the currently applicable section 2244(d) time
limit, were untimely under section 2263 and subject to dismissal on
that basis. Consequently, they maintain, certifying Arizona's capital
counsel mechanism may deny prisoners due process or result in the
execution of prisoners who would have obtained relief had their claims
been heard. Commenters also raised other objections to section 2263,
including that its time limit is too short to allow adequate
investigation and preparation of claims or to secure evidence of their
clients' innocence, or that the section 2263 time limit's starting
point will leave insufficient time for seeking postconviction review
when taken in conjunction with the timing rules for the U.S. Supreme
Court's certiorari process.
Regarding uncertainty about the time limit that will apply, that
possibility is inherent in Congress's design of the statutory scheme
for federal habeas review and the fact that Congress sometimes decides
to make changes. Essentially the same issue was presented by the
enactment in 1996 of 28 U.S.C. 2244(d), which created a 1-year time
limit for federal habeas filing, where there had previously been no
time limit for federal habeas filing. Courts did not apply the new
section 2244(d) time limit so as to unfairly bar petitions filed in
existing cases, but rather ensured the availability of the 1-year
period to all petitioners. See, e.g., Calderon v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for
the Cent. Dist. of Cal., 128 F.3d 1283, 1287 (9th Cir. 1997); see also
Calderon v. Ashmus, 523 U.S. at 748 & n.3 (explaining that uncertainty
about applicable time limit does not confer standing to challenge
application of chapter 154); Habeas Corpus Resource Ctr., 816 F.3d at
1250 (same, regarding challenge to regulations implementing chapter
154). I expect that the federal courts will similarly apply the chapter
154 time limit, where it is newly applicable, in a manner that ensures
fundamental fairness. However the courts address this issue, it is not
a matter under the control of the Attorney General or the State of
Arizona, and it does not bear on whether Arizona has established a
capital counsel mechanism satisfying the requirements of chapter 154.
The same is true regarding such matters as the adequacy of the time
provided for federal habeas filing under chapter 154. Congress
evidently regarded the 180-day period for federal habeas filing under
28 U.S.C. 2263, subject to tolling, as adequate and warranted,
considering the availability of counsel to the petitioner throughout
the state court litigation, and the unique problem of litigation delay
in capital cases. See 137 Cong. Rec. at 6013; 135 Cong. Rec. at 24694-
95, 24697-98 (Powell Committee Report). Congress has broad authority
under the Constitution to determine federal habeas procedure. See
Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 651, 664 (1996) (``judgments about the
proper scope of the writ are `normally for Congress to make' '')
(quoting Lonchar v. Thomas, 517 U.S. 314, 323 (1996)). Even if I were
to agree--and I do not--that such adjustments of federal habeas
procedure are problematic on constitutional or prudential grounds, I
have no authority to overrule Congress's decisions in these matters.
Nor do I have authority to add to chapter 154's express requirements,
see 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(3), which forecloses requiring the State to waive
chapter 154's time limits--as some commenters may wish--as a condition
of certification.
Noting that section 2263(b)(1) does not provide for tolling until a
petition for certiorari is filed or the time for seeking certiorari
expires, some comments expressed a concern that much of the limitation
period may be consumed if the defendant does not petition for
certiorari soon after ``final State court affirmance of the conviction
and sentence on direct review.'' 28 U.S.C. 2263(a). However, the
comments recognized that this will not occur if the triggering event
under section 2263(a) is understood to be the Arizona Supreme Court's
issuance of its mandate--which does not occur until after the U.S.
Supreme Court's certiorari process. The interpretation of section 2263
on this point is a matter under the control of the federal courts, not
the Attorney General or the State of Arizona, and it does not conflict
with my determination that Arizona has established a qualifying capital
counsel mechanism under chapter 154.
[[Page 20720]]
2. Time Limits for Federal Habeas Adjudication
Beyond the criticisms of the chapter 154 time limit for federal
habeas filings, some comments objected that the 28 U.S.C. 2266 time
limits for federal district courts and courts of appeals to adjudicate
federal habeas petitions are unfair and unconstitutional, contrasting
them to the longer periods of time that federal courts typically take
now in adjudicating federal habeas petitions in capital cases. Like the
other constitutional and policy critiques of chapter 154 appearing in
the public comments, these comments do not bear on the question I am
charged with answering: Whether Arizona has established a capital
counsel mechanism satisfying chapter 154's requirements. And like the
other criticisms of chapter 154, these objections are not well founded.
Defining rules of federal judicial procedure is an exercise of
legislative power that the Constitution vests in Congress. See Sibbach
v. Wilson & Co., 312 U.S. 1, 9-10 (1941) (``Congress has undoubted
power to regulate the practice and procedure of federal courts'')
(footnote omitted). Congress may delegate some rulemaking authority to
the courts, as it has done in the Rules Enabling Act, 28 U.S.C. 2071-
77, and courts may decide such matters in default of legislative
action--neither of which detracts from Congress's paramount authority
in this area. See id.; see also, e.g., Mistretta v. United States, 488
U.S. 361, 386-88 (1989); Palermo v. United States, 360 U.S. 343, 345-48
(1959). That includes the authority to determine the procedures for
federal review of state prisoners' applications for habeas corpus. See
Felker, 518 U.S. at 664; Lonchar, 517 U.S. at 323.
The principal timing rules for adjudications under chapter 154 are
as follows: Section 2266(a) provides that federal habeas applications
subject to chapter 154 are to be given priority by the district court
and by the court of appeals over all noncapital matters. Section
2266(b) provides that a district court is to complete its adjudication
of a capital habeas petition within 450 days of filing or 60 days of
submission for decision, subject to a possible 30-day extension.
Section 2266(c) provides that appellate panels are to render their
decisions within 120 days of completion of briefing, that requests for
rehearing or rehearing en banc are to be decided within 30 days of the
request or a responsive pleading, and that a rehearing or rehearing en
banc is to be decided within 120 days of the date it is granted.
The public comments provided no persuasive reason why these time
periods for adjudication should be considered unreasonable or beyond
Congress's authority over matters of judicial procedure. Nor did the
comments provide any persuasive reason to reach such a conclusion with
respect to the application of these time limits to pending cases. In
relation to such cases, the sponsor of the 2006 amendments to chapter
154 explained the application of the amendments' effective-date
provision, appearing in section 507(d) of Public Law 109-177, as
starting the time limits when the Attorney General certifies that the
State has established a qualifying capital counsel mechanism. So
understood, they will not impose impossible requirements on courts to
conclude the adjudication of pending capital cases within time frames
that have already passed. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2449 (remarks of Sen.
Kyl); cf. Br. for Appellants at 22-23, Habeas Corpus Resource Ctr. v.
U.S. Dep't of Justice, 816 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 2016) (No. 14-16928)
(explaining similar application of section 2244(d) time limit to
pending cases).
Because protracted collateral litigation impedes the execution of
capital sentences, it is reasonable for Congress to provide that courts
are to prioritize these proceedings and to set limits on their
duration. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2441-48 (2006) (remarks of Sen. Kyl);
151 Cong. Rec. at E2639 (extension of remarks of Rep. Flake); 137 Cong.
Rec. at 6013-14 (legislative history); 135 Cong. Rec. at 24694-95
(Powell Committee Report). If petitioners believe that the time limits
for adjudicating petitions are unconstitutional as applied to their
cases, they may so argue to the federal habeas courts that adjudicate
their petitions. However the courts may rule on such claims, it has no
bearing on the question whether Arizona has established a capital
counsel mechanism satisfying the requirements of chapter 154.
3. Litigation Burdens
In addition to criticisms based on the differences between the
chapter 154 time limits and the time now required for capital federal
habeas litigation, public comments expressed concerns about novel
litigation burdens under chapter 154, such as having to litigate under
28 U.S.C. 2261(b)(2) the question whether the defendant's state
postconviction counsel was appointed pursuant to the certified state
mechanism. But litigation of this nature will not necessarily be common
or burdensome. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2446 (remarks of Sen. Kyl)
(discussing limited nature of inquiry).
Moreover, the critical comments did not consider the ways in which
the application of chapter 154 may reduce burdens for defense counsel.
See 73 FR at 75336 (``the chapter 154 procedures eliminate a number of
burdens that defense counsel would otherwise bear''). The differences
include the automatic stay provisions of 28 U.S.C. 2262, which should
reduce the need to engage in litigation over stays of execution.
Chapter 154 also provides, in section 2264, clearer and tighter rules
concerning claims cognizable in federal habeas review. This will
relieve federal habeas counsel of the need to develop and present
claims that may be cognizable under the general habeas rules but are
not cognizable under chapter 154. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2448-49
(remarks of Sen. Kyl). Federal habeas counsel will not need to litigate
questions concerning the exhaustion of state remedies, and will be
relieved of other burdens incident to the movement of cases between the
state courts and the federal courts resulting from the exhaustion
requirement of 28 U.S.C. 2254(b)-(c), because it does not apply under
chapter 154. See 28 U.S.C. 2264(b) (``Following review subject to
subsections (a), (d), and (e) of section 2254, the court shall rule on
the claims properly before it.''); see also 152 Cong. Rec. at 2447-48
(remarks of Sen. Kyl); 135 Cong. Rec. at 24695, 24698 (Powell Committee
Report).
Likewise, chapter 154 reduces or eliminates a number of burdens and
causes of delay for federal habeas courts. The automatic stay provision
reduces the need to adjudicate requests for stays of execution. Courts
will not need to review and decide claims that are disallowed under
section 2264. Adjudication of questions concerning exhaustion of state
remedies will not be required because the exhaustion requirement does
not apply under chapter 154. For the same reason, delays that result
from sending unexhausted claims back to state court for exhaustion of
state remedies will no longer occur.
Consequently, the time required under currently applicable law for
counsel to prepare federal habeas petitions, and for federal habeas
courts to complete their adjudications, are not reliable indicators of
how much time will be needed under the chapter 154 procedures.
Objections to certification of Arizona's mechanism premised on the
assumption that the time requirements in either case must be similar
are not well-founded.
[[Page 20721]]
B. Validity of the Implementing Rule
Some comments challenged the implementing rule for chapter 154,
Subpart B of 28 CFR part 26, arguing that it is invalid on procedural
and substantive grounds. These criticisms are not well founded and in
any event do not bear on this certification. See Br. for Appellants at
28-49 and Reply Br. for Appellants at 15-28, Habeas Corpus Resource
Ctr. v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 816 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 2016) (No. 14-
16928).
C. Request for a Stay
Some comments asked that I stay my certification of Arizona's
mechanism pending judicial review of my determination, arguing the
matter on the terms a court would consider in deciding whether to order
a stay--likelihood that the determination will be overturned on
judicial review, alleged irreparable harm to the commenters and their
clients, alleged lack of harm to Arizona and other interested parties,
and the public interest. Chapter 154 creates no requirement that I
grant a stay, however, and I decline to do so.
Chapter 154 conditions its applicability on the Attorney General's
determination that a State has established a capital counsel mechanism
satisfying its requirements--not on the completion of judicial review
of my determination. See 28 U.S.C. 2261(b), 2265. Also, 28 U.S.C.
2265(a)(1)(B), (a)(2) directs me to determine the date on which the
state capital counsel mechanism was established and makes that date the
effective date of the certification. Thus, chapter 154 applies to cases
in which postconviction counsel was appointed pursuant to the
mechanism, though the appointment occurred prior to the publication of
this notice. See 152 Cong. Rec. at 2449 (remarks of Sen. Kyl)
(explaining effect of section 2265(a)(2)); 151 Cong. Rec. at E2640
(extension of remarks of Rep. Flake) (same); Habeas Corpus Resource
Ctr., 816 F.3d at 1245 (``[t]he certification is effective as of the
date the Attorney General finds the state established its adequate
mechanism''). A stay would mean, however, that the certification would
not yet be effective in relation to cases in which state postconviction
counsel was appointed on or after May 19, 1998--notwithstanding my
determination that Arizona established a capital counsel mechanism
satisfying chapter 154 on that date--but would only take effect at some
unpredictable future time when litigation relating to the certification
has run its course.
Moreover, the commenters' arguments for a stay were not convincing.
It is not likely that a challenge to the certification will prevail on
the merits because Arizona has in fact established a mechanism
satisfying the requirements of chapter 154, as explained in this
notice. The Ninth Circuit's determination in Spears that Arizona has
established a capital counsel mechanism satisfying the requirements of
chapter 154--a mechanism that has not changed materially since the time
of that decision--makes it particularly unlikely that another court
will reach a different conclusion.
Even if there were a likelihood of a challenge succeeding on the
merits, there is no public interest, or prospect of irreparable injury,
that justifies a stay. The commenters' claims on these points largely
relate to a concern that the time available to seek federal habeas
review will be severely curtailed or eliminated if the time limit of 28
U.S.C. 2263 becomes applicable. This concern is not well founded and
does not bear on the validity of the certification as explained above.
Commenters also raised, in this connection, criticisms of other aspects
of chapter 154, including provisions of 28 U.S.C. 2264 and 2266 that
limit review of procedurally defaulted claims and amendment of
petitions, and the provisions that set time limits for federal habeas
courts to conclude their review of state capital cases. These features
of chapter 154 are legislative responses to the unique problems of
delay in capital litigation and are within Congress's constitutional
authority over matters of judicial procedure in federal habeas review,
as discussed above. The litigation and adjudication of cases in
conformity with the applicable legal rules are not sources of
``injury'' supporting a stay. All of these claims amount to criticisms
of chapter 154 itself. They may arise in future habeas corpus
litigation, but they do not bear on the question before me. See
Calderon v. Ashmus, 523 U.S. at 746-49.
On the other side of the ledger, Arizona will be harmed if it is
denied the benefits of the chapter 154 review procedures, to which it
is legally entitled based on its establishment of a capital counsel
mechanism satisfying the requirements of chapter 154. The survivors of
victims murdered by persons under sentence of death in Arizona will be
harmed by a stay, prolonging their suffering and further denying them
the closure of a final disposition of the cases that concern them. See
152 Cong. Rec. at 2441-47 (remarks of Sen. Kyl); 151 Cong. Rec. at
E2639 (extension of remarks of Rep. Flake). There will also be harm to
any persons under sentence of death in Arizona who would be granted
relief on a final disposition of their federal habeas petitions, but
whose cases now linger for years or decades because there is no
requirement that the cases be accorded priority or concluded within any
time frame. As noted above, the submissions elicited by Arizona's
request for certification show instances in which the litigation of
Arizona capital cases has continued for over 20 years. Staying the
remediation Congress has adopted, to which Arizona is entitled, would
be harmful to many and not in the public interest.
Consequently, I do not stay my certification of Arizona's
postconviction capital counsel mechanism and the effective date of the
certification is May 19, 1998, in conformity with 28 U.S.C. 2265(a)(2).
Dated: April 6, 2020.
William P. Barr,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 2020-07617 Filed 4-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-19-P