Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $250,000)
The purpose of the Capital Case Litigation Initiative (CCLI) is to provide high-quality training and technical assistance on death penalty issues to prosecutors and defense counsel who litigate death penalty cases. This program focuses on ensuring quality representation in death penalty cases and trials. The goals of CCLI are to increase the number of capital litigation attorneys trained in death penalty cases, and to ensure that defense counsel and prosecutors have the most up-to-date and comprehensive information available to them on death penalty litigation.
The Louisiana Public Defender Board (LPD) will utilize the Fiscal Year 2009 CCLI grant award to provide CCLI training to both prosecutors and defense attorneys in the State of Louisiana.
The LPD will coordinate with the Louisiana District Attorney's Association to implement the CCLI trainings. Proposed project goals include: (1) expand the availability of quality training and assistance in capital defense representation through development and implementation of the National Consortium for Capital Defense Training model and curriculum in Louisiana; (2) increase the number of qualified capital defense practitioners in Louisiana by improving the quality of capital defense representation to meet national standards, as defined in the ABA Guidelines; and (3) increase the availability of quality training in capital prosecution with a particular focus on those areas affecting the reliability of death sentences and the risk of wrongful convictions.
The defense trainings will consist of a three-day intensive training format based on the bring-your-own-case format. Plenary sessions will be matched to intensive, small group sessions that will make up the majority of the program. The prosecution trainings will consist of two, one-day trainings aimed at enhancing the ability of prosecutors to effectively represent the public and to ensure reliable verdicts. Grant funds will cover fiscal agent administrative costs, in-state travel expenses, conference related expenditures (meals, rental equipment, postage, and training materials and supplies), and consultant fees (curriculum development).
CA/NCF