NCJ Number
116225
Journal
Advocate Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1989) Pages: 14-16
Date Published
1989
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) has developed standards for attorney representation in capital cases because of poor representation by legal-aid attorneys in such cases.
Abstract
Inadequate representation of poor people accused of capital crimes was documented in the 1980's, notably in Goodpaster (1983). Among the most consistent and serious deficiencies in the performance of capital counsel has been the failure to prepare and present effectively a defense case at the sentencing phase. At the 1987 NLADA Annual Conference, the NLADA Standards for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases were approved by the Defender Committee and the Board of Directors. The standards require that two qualified attorneys be appointed at every level, that a formal appointment plan be adopted in every death penalty jurisdiction, and that an independent appointing authority make appointments by rotating an established roster of qualified attorneys. Another standard is that attorneys who have inexcusably ignored basic responsibilities of an effective lawyer, resulting in prejudice to the client's case, should not receive additional appointments. The standards have been favorably received by the American Bar Association, which has used them, with slight modifications, in producing Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases. This article reports on Ohio's, Kentucky's, Nebraska's, and Philadelphia's responses to the standards.