Adequate Counsel

The right to adequate counsel is one of the most important rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and one that increases the fairness and accuracy of our criminal justice system, especially in capital cases.

Capital cases are the most complicated to try, and almost all capital defendants are indigent and therefore dependent on the state to provide an adequate defense — the same state that wants to convict and execute them. Too often, however, the quality of legal representation that states provide to indigent defendants is woefully inadequate. Bad defense lawyering has been a factor in many of the nearly 130 exonerations from death row and many other wrongful convictions.

Inadequate counsel runs the gamut from attorneys lacking experience or critical resources to attorneys being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Incompetent defense attorneys don’t investigate cases thoroughly, don’t present compelling or mitigating evidence, and don’t call witnesses that would aid in the defense.

In addition, monumental caseloads, caps on defender fees, and a severe lack of resources for investigation and expert assistance undermine the presentation of an adequate defense.

The problem of inadequate counsel is not isolated to a few bad attorneys. It’s a systematic government failure that persists because states have not adopted and implemented standards designed to fulfill the constitutional guarantee of adequate counsel.

ABA Guidelines
In 2003, the American Bar Association (ABA) developed specific guidelines for the appointment and performance of lawyers in death penalty cases, which the U.S. Supreme Court has cited as an appropriate performance standard for defense counsel in capital cases. These guidelines are essentially the gold standard for implementing effective systems of capital representation. Yet to date, no state has fully implemented the guidelines.

Without systemic performance standards for the appointment of adequate counsel in death penalty cases, states face the very real possibility of convicting and sentencing an innocent person to death.

Check back soon to read The Justice Project’s new Policy Review on Adequate Counsel!

The Justice Project’s Recommendations for
Ensuring Adequate Counsel in Capital Cases

  • States should establish an independent “Responsible Agency” for the administration of defense services in capital cases.

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  • The Responsible Agency must adopt and enforce qualification and performance standards sufficient to ensure the provision of adequate legal representation.

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  • The Responsible Agency must provide access to a “defense team” including co-counsel, an independent investigator, a mitigation specialist, and a mental health specialist.

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  • The Responsible Agency must adopt and enforce compensation and workload standards sufficient to ensure the provision of adequate legal representation.

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  • States should seek the funding sufficient to implement these reforms.

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Related Studies

The Spangenberg Group, Resources of the Prosecution and Indigent Defense Functions in Tennessee, 2007

American Bar Association, Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, 2003

Related Cases

Joseph Amrine
Joseph AmrineJoseph Amrine was sentenced to death in a 1986 Missouri murder trial. Amrine’s state-appointed counsel failed to present any mitigating evidence. He never impeached witnesses with prior inconsistent statements. During sentencing, he never objected to false testimony regarding a prior alleged stabbing by Amrine. Amrine lost four appeals before the Missouri Supreme Court reversed his conviction in 2003 based on recantations of three inmate snitches and the testimony of a prison guard who saw the murder. After spending 17 years on death row for a crime he did not commit, Joseph Amrine was finally freed on July 28, 2003. Read about Joseph Amrine

Earl Washington, Jr.
Earl Washington Jr.Earl Washington Jr. came within nine days of being executed for a murder he did not commit. Washington, a Virginia man with mental retardation, was coerced by police into “confessing” to several crimes that he did not commit. Police eventually acknowledged that Washington was innocent of most of the crimes but pursued the murder case. At trial, Washington’s lawyer failed to inform the jury of Washington’s other false confessions or to present evidence of Washington’s mental limitations and low IQ - factors that played a considerable role in his confessions. Washington spent nearly 18 years in prison, including nine on death row, before DNA testing led to his exoneration on February 12, 2001. Read about Earl Washington, Jr.

Michael Graham
Michael GrahamMichael Graham spent 14 years on death row in Louisiana for a murder he did not commit. Graham was represented at trial by two inexperienced attorneys, one of whom abandoned the case before the sentencing phase. The attorneys didn’t investigate a snitch’s deal with the prosecution, didn’t know the rules of evidence, and didn’t prepare for the sentencing phase. With the help of pro-bono lawyers, Graham won a new trial and was freed from prison in December 2000. By the time of his release, Graham had spent half of his adult life on death row. Read about Michael Graham

 

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