This six-day trial skills program is the oldest annual death penalty trial practice college for defense counsel with pending capital trials, state or federal. Attendees use their own skills and "raw material" for this hands-on training. The sessions involve a combination of skills and concentrated trial preparation. The Office of Defender Services’ Training Branch provides financial assistance to a limited number of lawyers with federal capital cases to attend this college.

Financial Assistance Application (PDF form)

This nationally-recognized program, the only one of its kind, focuses on representation in capital habeas cases in toto. Habeas experts discuss issue identification, investigation, factual and legal development and representation of claims, the use of mitigation and mental health experts, and substantive and procedural habeas corpus jurisprudence. The program is designed for, and attendance is limited to, Federal Defender staff, Criminal Justice Act panel attorneys, and state court practitioners who are currently appointed, or seeking appointment to, a capital habeas corpus proceeding.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

**If applying for Financial Assistance, please fill out the Financial Assistance Application below. Please be sure you attached a letter which describes your financial situation and need for financial assistance and provides detailed information about your involvement in capital habeas litigation (Applications without letters will not be considered). Requests for financial assistance must be received by July 7th. Applicants will be notified by July 21st.

To Register, Click Here (PDF format)

Financial Assistance Application, Click Here (PDF format)

The annual Federal Death Penalty Strategy Session will take place on Friday October 31 and Saturday November 1, 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona at the Arizona Grand Resort, 8000 S. Arizona Grand Parkway, Phoenix, Arizona 85044. This training is intended for CJA attorneys, Federal Defenders, mitigation specialists and investigators assigned to represent persons charged with or convicted of federal capital offenses and will cover, among other possible topics a review of legal and case related developments as well as other issues relevant to federal death penalty litigation. There will also be presentations related to developing and presenting mitigation evidence as well as mental health issues. There will be no tuition, and materials will be provided to participants free of charge.

REGISTRATION

To register, please go to http://etrak.fd.org/Login.aspx. You will need to Login in order to register. Although this is the first time we have used this registration procedure for the Strategy Session, if you’ve attended another program sponsored by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts in the past 2 years and haven’t created or updated your profile, your Login ID will be your email address you’ve provided to us and your password will be your last name with the first letter being capitalized.

Example: Login ID: chastain_smith@ao.uscourts.gov, Password: Smith.

If you have not attended a program in the past, you will need to create a Login ID. If assistance is needed, please email Shemiah Schuler at Shemiah_Schuler@ao.uscourts.gov. You will receive a confirmation email of your enrollment in the program and you will be provided information on how to make your hotel reservation.

Please note: A block of sleeping rooms has been set aside at the Arizona Grand Resort at the government rate of $102.00 per day.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Limited financial assistance for travel and/or lodging expenses is available through the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project of the Defender Services Division of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Priority for the assistance will be given to private attorneys, appointed under the Criminal Justice Act, with authorized or likely-to-be-authorized federal death penalty cases and who have demonstrated need for financial assistance.

If applying for Financial Assistance, please register as directed above and then fill out the Financial Assistance Application below. Please be sure you attach a letter which describes your financial situation and need for financial assistance (Applications without letters will not be considered). Requests for financial assistance must be received by Monday September 15th. Applicants will be notified by September 26th.

Financial Assistance Application, Click Here (PDF format)