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-1903 - General Standards for Capital Defense Counsel

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Obligations of Defense Counsel
1. Since the death penalty differs from all
				other criminal penalties, defense counsel in a capital case should respond to
				this difference by making extraordinary efforts on behalf of the
				accused.
2. The minimum standard in
				a capital case is high quality representation. To provide high quality
				representation counsel should zealously preserve, protect, and promote the
				clients rights and interests, and be loyal to the client. Counsel should serve
				as the clients counselor and advocate with courage and devotion, free from
				conflicts of interest and political or judicial interference. Zealous, high
				quality representation is to be provided in accordance with the
Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct
.
3. To ensure the preservation, protection and
				promotion of the clients right and interests, counsel should:
a. be proficient in the applicable
				substantive and procedural law;
b.
				acquire and maintain appropriate experience, skills and training;
c. devote adequate time and resources to the
				case;
d. engage in the preparation
				necessary for high quality representation;
e. endeavor to establish and maintain a
				relationship of trust and open communication with the client;
f. make accommodations where necessary due to
				a clients special circumstances, such as incompetence, mental or physical
				disability/illness, language barriers, youth, cultural differences, and
				circumstances of incarceration.
4. The primary and most fundamental
				obligation of a capital defense attorney to the administration of justice and
				as an officer of the court is to provide zealous, effective, high quality,
				ethical representation for his or her clients at all stages of the criminal
				process.
5. If personal matters
				make it impossible for defense counsel to fulfill the duty of zealous, high
				quality representation, he or she has a duty to refrain from representing the
				client.
6. Where counsel is unable
				to provide high quality representation in a particular case, counsel must
				promptly bring this deficiency to the attention of the capital case supervisor
				and the capital case coordinator or Responsible Agency. If the deficiency
				cannot be remedied, then counsel must bring the matter to the attention of the
				court and seek the relief appropriate to protect the interests of the client.
				Counsel may be unable to provide high quality representation due to a range of
				factors: lack of resources, insufficient time, excessive workload, poor health
				or other personal considerations, inadequate skill or experience etc.
7. Counsel assigned in any case in which the
				death penalty is a possible punishment should, even if the prosecutor has not
				indicated that the death penalty will be sought, begin preparation for the case
				as one in which the death penalty will be sought while employing strategies to
				have the case designated as a non-capital one. Even if the case has not been
				filed as a capital case, if there exists a reasonable possibility to believe
				that the case could be amended to a capital charge, counsel should be guided by
				capital defense techniques and these standards. In considering whether there is
				any reason to believe that the case could be amended, counsel should have
				regard to the nature of the allegations, the practice of the local prosecuting
				agency, statements by law enforcement and prosecutors, media and public
				sentiment, and any political factors that may impact the charging
				decision.