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Litigation Guides for the Authorization Process Litigation Guides for the Discovery Process Litigation Guides for the defense of Foreign Nationals Litigation Guides for the defense of the Innocent Litigation Guides for CJA & 3005 Litigation Guides for the Jury Selection Process Litigation Guides Addressing Race, Ethnicity & Geography Litigation Guides Addressing Ring Litigation Guides for the Severance Process Litigation Guides for the Trial Process

What Are Litigation Guides?

Over the years, FDPRC has acquired an extensive inventory of motions, briefs, and memoranda, and has developed a number of strategy memoranda, case summaries, and information sheets and tables, concerning the issues, practices, and procedures unique to, or made unique by, federal death penalty cases.

These documents are organized into Litigation Guides and are downloadable and easily accessible through user-friendly indexes. Many of these materials are available to the public. Counsel and other defense team members in federal capital cases are eligible for additional information, training, and support from FDPRC.

The on-line litigation guides cover seven areas at present – the Department of Justice’s Death Penalty Authorization Process, Discovery, defending Foreign Nationals, Jury Selection, Racial Justice Issues, Severance and Time to Trial. We are preparing additional litigation guides covering Resources for the Defense, Death Penalty Challenges, Penalty Phase Instructions, Penalty Phase Investigation and Mental Retardation Issues, which will be included in the webpage very soon. Extensive materials are presently available in all these areas, but the organization of them into litigation guides is work in progress. If you need materials in these areas before they are available in the webpage, contact FDPRC.

The Litigation Guides presently online cover:

The Department of Justice’s Death Penalty Authorization Process – with materials from the Department of Justice governing authorization decisions and describing the authorization process, materials raising legal challenges to the process, answers to the most frequently asked questions about the process, case lists that can be used in arguments that the death penalty is disproportionate in particular cases, and sample letters arguing against authorization;

Discovery – with materials concerning pre-authorization and other early production, Rule 16 matters, informants, government witnesses and non-witnesses interviewed by the government, Rule 17 subpoenas, victim-impact witnesses, bills of particulars, discovery of race discrimination, and extensive summaries of helpful discovery decisions in the federal courts;

Severance – with exemplary motions and briefs from several cases, experts’ declarations in support of severance motions, a paper by one of the leading social scientists in the field, an affidavit and table from FDPRC recounting the severance decisions of the federal courts in capital cases, and summaries of federal court decisions on severance;

Trial Preparation Time – with sample motions for continuance and supporting memorandum, FDPRC declarations and affidavits in support of motions for continuance, a table reflecting time between indictment, death penalty notice, and trial in federal capital cases, and summaries of federal court decisions involving preparation time;

Jury Selection