Ohio: Supreme Court Capital Standards, Tied to State Funding

Under Rule 20, the Supreme Court sends to each county a list of lawyers who are qualified to represent indigent capital defendants. To earn a place on this list, lawyers apply to the state standards committee, which reviews each application. Among the requirements are 12 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) in death-penalty training (increased from six hours after a petition from the standards committee), which is provided three times a year. In addition to basic requirements such as at least three years of experience as a lawyer, there are requirements specific to the lawyer s role in the case; for example, to be lead counsel in a capital case (there must be two lawyers), a lawyer must have served as co-counsel in at least two capital murder trials from opening statements through the verdict and mitigation phases. This system has produced a list of 400 qualified lawyers.

Standards are enforced by financial incentives. Counties receive reimbursement from the state only if they appoint lawyers who are certified under Rule 20.

The standards committee also works with the Supreme Court on appropriate procedural changes related to capital defense. In August, the standards committee plans to send a letter to the state Supreme Court asking it to extend the time period for the first direct appeal in a capital case that goes directly to the Supreme Court, because current time limits are brief and the burden falls almost entirely on the state public defender s office, which provides experts and handles most capital appeals.

From Redefining Leadership for Equal Justice: Final Report of the National Symposium on Indigent Defense 2000 (Office of Justice Programs/Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, 2001), at 15. (pdf document)

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