Resources for Managing Capital Cases

Overview
Resources for Managing Federal Death Penalty Trials | Additional Resources
Resources for Managing Habeas Corpus Review of Capital Convictions

Resources for Managing Federal Death Penalty Trials

Resource Guide for Managing Capital Cases, Volume I: Federal Death Penalty Trials (updated April 2004)
This 59-page guide describes the statutes, case law, and policies applicable to federal death penalty case-management issues such as appointment of counsel, case budgeting, and jury selection, and summarizes procedures judges have used in capital cases at each stage of the proceedings. Although information in the guide is generally current to the revision date that follows the title, some portions may become dated as case law develops and new approaches emerge to managing federal death penalty cases. The authors are updating this guide's cost data, which are outdated, especially as to mitigation experts and investigators.

Additional Resources for judges managing federal death penalty cases. Supplemental materials discussed in Volume I of the resource guide can be downloaded below.They include a compilation of orders, jury questionnaires, instructions, verdict forms, and other materials developed by judges who have handled death penalty cases. Click on [title].pdf to download an Adobe Acrobat version of the form or on [title].rtf to download a RichTextFormat version you can open and work on in any standard word-processing software. Note that provision of case-related materials by the Federal Judicial Center does not constitute the Center's endorsement of their use or legality. Anyone contemplating using or borrowing from these materials should research case law to determine their current viability. (New supplemental materials added June 2006.)