Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 22 - CORRECTIONS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Part XV - Public Defender Board
Chapter 9 - Capital Defense Guidelines
Section XV-905 - Designation of Responsible Agencies

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code XV-905

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

A. Responsibility for Ensuring High Quality Legal Representation in Capital Cases

1. Subject to R.S. 15:165, the district public defender is responsible within his or her jurisdiction for:
a. ensuring that each capital defendant in the jurisdiction receives high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines and associated performance standards at trial level;

b. ensuring the continuing cooperation of trial counsel and defense team members with appellate and post-conviction counsel;

c. recruitment and development of attorneys to represent capital defendants at trial level, including assisting attorneys in meeting certification requirements;

d. assigning the attorneys who will represent the defendant throughout the trial level of the case, except to the extent that the defendant has private attorneys and has not sought assistance as a partially indigent defendant;

e. monitoring the performance of all attorneys providing trial level capital representation in the jurisdiction;

f. periodically reviewing the roster of qualified attorneys in his or her jurisdiction and recommending to the state public defender the withdrawal of certification from any attorney who fails to provide high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines; and

g. investigating and maintaining records concerning complaints about the performance of attorneys providing representation in death penalty cases within his or her jurisdiction and taking appropriate corrective action without delay.

2. The district public defender may assign these responsibilities to the state public defender by agreement with the state public defender and upon execution of an appropriate District Capital Representation Plan. Where a service region is established, the responsibilities vested in the district public defender in these guidelines may be assigned to the regional director as a part of a service delivery method for the region established under R.S. 15:160(B)(7).

3. The state public defender is responsible for:
a. ensuring that each capital defendant in the jurisdiction receives high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines and associated performance standards at post-sentencing, appellate level and upon any remand;

b. ensuring that each capital defendant in the jurisdiction receives high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines and associated performance standards at state post-conviction level;

c. ensuring that each capital defendant in the jurisdiction receives high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines and associated performance standards at clemency level;

d. ensuring that each capital defendant in the jurisdiction receives high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines and associated performance standards at trial level where defense services are provided by a capital defense organization acting pursuant to a contract with the board;

e. ensuring that each capital defendant in the jurisdiction receives high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines and associated performance standards at trial level where responsibility is assigned to the state public defender by agreement with the district public defender or where such responsibility is assigned pursuant to R.S. 15:165;

f. investigating and maintaining records concerning complaints about the performance of attorneys providing representation in cases for which he or she has responsibility under §905. A and take appropriate corrective action without delay; and

g. performing or ensuring the performance of all the duties listed in Subsection E of this Section.

B. Independence from the Judiciary

1. The district public defender, regional director and state public defender are to be independent of the judiciary and they, not the judiciary or elected officials, shall select lawyers for specific cases.

C. Delegation of Responsibility for Ensuring High Quality Legal Representation in Capital Cases

1. If the district public defender, regional director or state public defender assigns, contracts or delegates performance of its responsibilities under this Section, it shall clearly identify within the Capital Representation Plan to whom responsibility is assigned, contracted or delegated.

2. Performance of responsibilities under this Section may only be assigned, contracted or delegated to:
a. the state public defender;

b. a defender organization, that is:
i. a jurisdiction-wide capital trial office, relying on staff attorneys, members of the private bar or both to provide representation in death penalty cases. This may include a regional death penalty center as described in R.S. 15:164;

ii. a jurisdiction-wide capital appellate and/or post-conviction defender office, relying on staff attorneys, members of the private bar or both to provide representation in death penalty cases; or

iii. an independent authority, that is, an entity run by defense attorneys with demonstrated knowledge and expertise in capital representation.

3. Regardless of any contract, assignment or delegation (save for an assignment of responsibility to the state public defender or the regional director) the district public defender, regional director or state public defender remain ultimately responsible for ensuring that the responsibilities described under this Section are met.

D. Conflict of Interest

1. In any circumstance in which the performance of a duty under this Section would result in a conflict of interest, the relevant duty should be performed by the state public defender, a defender organization or independent authority free of a conflict of interest and identified for this purpose in the Capital Representation Plan.

2. The Capital Representation Plan shall identify an effectual system to identify and resolve such conflicts. The system will include provisions to ensure that no organization or person responsible for representing a capital defendant shall be responsible for assigning or supervising counsel for another defendant with an antagonistic defense.

3. In order to ensure that the state public defender's office remains free of conflicts in all cases, no attorney who holds a formal role in the office of the state public defender shall represent a capital defendant in the jurisdiction during the term of his or her service.

E. Duties of State Public Defender

1. The state public defender should, in accordance with these guidelines, perform the following duties:
a. recruit and certify attorneys as qualified to be appointed to represent defendants in death penalty cases;

b. draft and periodically update rosters of certified attorneys;

c. periodically publish the certification standards, the procedures by which attorneys are certified and how attorneys are assigned to particular cases in each district;

d. assign the attorneys who will represent the defendant at each stage of every case where the state public defender has responsibility for ensuring that the capital defendant receives high quality legal representation under §905 A;

e. monitor the performance of all attorneys and defender organizations providing representation in capital proceedings;

f. periodically review the roster of qualified attorneys and withdraw certification from any attorney who fails to provide high quality legal representation consistent with these guidelines;

g. conduct, sponsor, or approve specialized training programs for attorneys representing defendants in death penalty cases;

h. recruit and support the professional development of mitigation specialists in the state of Louisiana; and

i. ensure that each district public defender and regional director complies with his or her responsibilities under these guidelines and associated performance standards.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 15:148.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.