Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 22 - CORRECTIONS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Part XV - Public Defender Board
Chapter 21 - Performance Standards for Attorneys Representing Juveniles in Life without Parole Cases
Section XV-2101 - Purpose

A. The standards are intended to encourage district public defenders, assistant public defenders and appointed counsel to perform to a high standard of representation and to promote professionalism in the representation of juveniles facing a possible sentence of life without parole or serving a sentence of life without parole. For the purpose of these standards, pursuant to Roper v. Simmons, Graham v. Florida and Miller v. Alabama, the term juvenile includes any individual who was under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offense.

B. The standards are also intended to alert defense counsel to courses of action that may be necessary, advisable, or appropriate, and thereby to assist attorneys in deciding upon the particular actions to be taken in each case to ensure that the client receives the best representation possible. The standards are further intended to provide a measure by which the performance of district public defenders, assistant public defenders and appointed counsel may be evaluated, including guidelines for proper documentation of files to demonstrate adherence to the standards, and to assist in training and supervising attorneys.

C. The language of these standards is general, implying flexibility of action that is appropriate to the situation. In those instances where a particular action is absolutely essential to providing quality representation, the standards use the word "shall." In those instances where a particular action is usually necessary to providing quality representation, the standards use the word "should." Even where the standards use the word "shall," in certain situations, the lawyers best informed professional judgment and discretion may indicate otherwise.

D. These standards are intended to adopt and apply the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, Louisiana Public Defender Board (LPDB) Performance Standards for Criminal Defense Representation in Indigent Capital Cases, LPDB Capital Defense Guidelines, LPDB Trial Court Performance Standards for Delinquency Representation, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) Trial Defense Guidelines for Representing a Child Client Facing a Possible Life Sentence, the guidelines for capital defense set out by the American Bar Association's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, its associated commentary and the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty Cases. In these standards, the ABA guidelines have been adapted and applied to meet the specific needs and legal requirements applicable to lawyers representing juveniles facing a possible sentence of life without parole in Louisiana while seeking to give effect to the intention and spirit of the ABA guidelines.