Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 22 - CORRECTIONS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT › Part XV - Public Defender Board › Chapter 19 - Performance Standards for Criminal Defense Representation in Indigent Capital Cases › Section XV-1905 - Performance Standard 2: Relations with Client

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Counsels Obligation to Build and Maintain
				Relationship with Client
1. Counsel at all
				stages of the case should make every appropriate effort to establish a
				relationship of trust and confidence with the client, and should maintain close
				contact with the client. Representation of a capital client should proceed in a
				client-centered fashion with a strong emphasis on the relationship between the
				defense team and the client.
2.
				Counsel should make every appropriate effort to overcome barriers to
				communication and trust, including those arising from the client's special
				circumstances, such as incompetence, mental or physical disability/illness,
				language barriers, youth, and cultural differences, circumstances of
				incarceration, prior experiences in the criminal justice system, and prior
				experiences of legal representation. Where barriers to communication or trust
				with counsel cannot be adequately overcome to allow for high quality
				representation of the client, the capital case supervisor should be informed,
				and such further steps as are necessary should be taken. In an appropriate
				case, this may include seeking the assignment of additional counsel or other
				team members or the substitution of counsel.
3. Lead counsel should ensure that the
				defense team as a whole is able to establish and maintain a relationship of
				trust and confidence with the client. Where a particular team member is unable
				to overcome barriers to communication or trust, lead counsel should take all
				reasonable steps to remedy the problem. Where the relationship cannot be
				sufficiently improved, lead counsel should strongly consider removing or
				replacing the team member, or seeking removal or replacement from the director
				of the law office or contracting agency.
4. Understanding that a relationship of trust
				and confidence with the client is essential to the provision of effective
				representation of a capital client, the defense team must take all reasonable
				steps to ensure that both the representation provided and the manner in which
				that representation is provided operate to develop and preserve such a
				relationship.
5. Understanding that
				regular contact and meaningful communication are essential to the provision of
				effective representation of a capital client, the defense team should take all
				reasonable steps to ensure that the client is able to communicate regularly
				with the defense team members in confidential circumstances and should ensure
				that the client is visited by defense team members frequently, particularly
				where the client is in custody. Counsel may rely upon other members of the
				defense team to provide some of the required contact with the client, but
				visits by other team members cannot substitute for counsels own direct contact
				with the client. Given lead counsels particular responsibilities, visits by
				other counsel in the case cannot substitute for lead counsels own direct
				contact with the client.
6. In a
				trial level case, a capital client should be visited by a member of the defense
				team no less than once every week, though visits would be expected to be much
				more frequent where there is active investigation or litigation in the case or
				in the lead up to trial. In a trial level case a capital client should be
				visited by an attorney member of the defense team no less than once every two
				weeks and by lead counsel no less than once month, though visits by counsel
				would be expected to be much more frequent where there is active investigation
				or litigation in the case or in the lead up to, during, and following
				trial.
7. In an appellate or
				post-conviction case, a capital client may be visited less frequently, but
				regular communication and actual visits remain critical to effective
				representation. In an appellate or post-conviction case, a capital client
				should be visited by a member of the defense team no less than once every two
				weeks, by an attorney member of the defense team no less than once a month and
				by lead counsel no less than once every two months, though visits would be
				expected to be much more frequent where there is active investigation or
				litigation in the case or in the lead up to, during, and following any major
				hearing and in the lead up to any execution date.
8. In all capital cases, where barriers to
				communication or trust exist or the circumstances call for more frequent
				contact, visits by defense team members, including counsel, should be as
				frequent as necessary to ensure high quality representation and to protect the
				interests of the client.
9. Counsel
				at all stages of the case need to monitor the clients physical, mental, and
				emotional condition and consider any potential legal consequences or adverse
				impact upon the adequate representation of the client. Counsel should monitor
				the clients physical, emotional, and mental condition throughout the
				representation both personally, through the observations of other team members
				and experts, and through review of relevant records. If counsel observes
				changes in the clients appearance or demeanor, counsel should promptly conduct
				an investigation of any circumstances contributing to this change, and take all
				reasonable steps to advance the best interests of the client. Recognizing the
				potential adverse consequences for the representation inherent in any
				substantial impairment of the clients physical, mental and emotional condition,
				counsel should take all reasonable steps to improve the clients physical,
				mental and emotional condition where possible.
10. Counsel at all stages of the case should
				engage in a continuing interactive dialogue with the client concerning all
				matters that might reasonably be expected to have a material impact on the
				case, such as:
a. the progress of and
				prospects for the investigation and what assistance the client might
				provide;
b. current or potential
				legal issues;
c. current or
				potential strategic and tactical decisions, including the waiver of any rights
				or privileges held by the client;
d. the development of a defense
				theory;
e. presentation of the
				defense case;
f. potential
				agreed-upon dispositions of the case, including any possible disposition
				currently acceptable to the prosecution;
g. litigation deadlines and the projected
				schedule of case-related events; and
h. relevant aspects of the clients
				relationship with correctional, parole, or other governmental agents (e.g.,
				prison medical providers or state psychiatrists).
11. Counsel shall inform the client of the
				status of the case at each step and shall provide information to the client
				regarding the process and procedures relevant to the case, including any
				anticipated time frame.
12. In the
				absence of a specific agreement to the contrary, counsel shall provide the
				client with a copy of each substantive document filed or entered in the case by
				the court and any party. Counsel shall warn any incarcerated client of the
				dangers of keeping case related material in a custodial environment and take
				steps to ensure that the client may have reasonable access to the documents and
				materials in the case without the necessity of keeping the documents in the
				prison.
13. Upon disposition of the
				case or any significant issue in the case, counsel shall promptly and
				accurately inform the client of the disposition.
14. Counsel should treat the client with
				respect. Counsel should never demean, disparage, or be hostile towards the
				client. It is the responsibility of lead counsel to ensure that all members of
				the defense team satisfy this standard.
15. Counsel shall respond in a timely manner
				to all correspondence from a client, unless the correspondence is wholly
				unreasonable in its volume or interval.
16. Counsel should maintain an appropriate,
				professional office and should maintain a system for receiving regular collect
				telephone calls from incarcerated clients. Counsel should provide incarcerated
				clients with directions on how to contact the office via collect telephone
				calls (e.g. what days and/or hours calls will be accepted). Counsel should
				determine whether telephone communications will be confidential and where they
				are not, should take all reasonable steps to ensure that privileged,
				confidential, or potentially damaging conversations are not conducted during
				any monitored or recorded calls.
17. Counsel should advise the client at the
				outset of the representation and frequently remind the client regarding his
				rights to silence and to counsel.
a. Counsel
				should carefully explain the significance of remaining silent, and how to
				assert the rights to silence and counsel. Counsel should specifically advise
				the client to assert his rights to silence and counsel if approached by any
				state actor seeking to question him about the charged offense, any other
				offense, or any other matter relevant to guilt, penalty, or a possible claim
				for relief. Counsel should take all reasonable steps to assist the client in
				asserting these rights, including providing a written assertion of rights for
				the client to use and asserting these rights on behalf of the client. Counsel
				should have regard to any special need or vulnerability of the client likely to
				impact his effective assertion of his rights.
b. In particular, counsel should advise the
				client not to speak with police, probation officers, or other government agents
				about the offense, any related matters, or any matter that may prove relevant
				in a penalty phase hearing without the presence of counsel. The client should
				be advised not to speak or write to any other person, including family members,
				friends, or co-defendants, about any such matters. The client should also be
				advised not to speak to any state or court appointed expert without the
				opportunity for prior consultation with counsel.
c. Counsel should also be conscious of the
				possible interest of media organizations and individual journalists and should
				advise the client not to communicate with the media, except as a part of a
				considered strategy undertaken on the advice of counsel.
18. If counsel knows that the client will be
				coming into contact with a state actor in circumstances relevant to the
				representation, counsel should seek to accompany the client to prevent any
				potentially harmful statements from being made or alleged.