Closing Date: 1st May, 2024
Description:
Position & Responsibilities
Lead Counsel in the Capital
Litigation Unit oversees team representation of capital clients. Each
in-house team is composed of a lead attorney, second attorney, fact
investigator, mitigation specialist, and administrative assistant. The
team strives to zealously represent its indigent capital clients
throughout post-conviction proceedings in the district court, through
the reinvestigation and reimagination of both the merits and penalty
phases of the case. If post-conviction proceedings are unsuccessful, the
team represents the client in a unified direct/post-conviction appeal.
Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Developing and maintaining healthy client relationships of mutual trust and respect, while encouraging clients to participate and contribute to their cases;
- Directing and overseeing the substantive and procedural aspects of each case, in collaboration other unit members;
- Directing the course of mitigation and fact investigations in each case, in collaboration with other unit members;
- Working collaboratively with other unit members and experts to develop a cohesive post-conviction strategy;
- Overseeing the identification and drafting of post-conviction issues;
- Overseeing the identification and drafting of appellate issues;
- Ensuring the timely filing of petitions, notices of appeals, and all other pleadings;
- Assisting to identify and vet necessary expert and lay witnesses;
- Working closely with other unit members to set realistic internal deadlines;
- Conducting evidentiary hearings in state courts, and presenting oral arguments in appellate courts;
- Tracking unit case statuses, along with all death-noticed cases throughout the state;
- Overseeing the commitment and expenditure of funds for CLU cases;
- Ensuring client loyalty by maintaining the team's focus on the best interests of the client, and ensuring loyalty to former clients and facilitating the work of any successor counsel;
- Supervising and mentoring other unit members;
- Effectively managing personnel and unit caseloads to ensure tasks are completed in a timely and professional manner;
- Traveling to courts, correctional institutions, and other locations within and outside the State of Idaho to attend court hearings and/or oral arguments, visit incarcerated clients, and conduct investigations;
- Conducting annual evaluations and appraisals for other unit members; and
- Depending on the desire and qualifications of the applicant, the applicant may also be a candidate to simultaneously serve as the chief of the Capital Litigation Unit.
Minimum Qualifications:
Lead Counsel must be licensed to practice law in the State of Idaho, or in the process of seeking admission to the Idaho State Bar. Lead counsel must be committed to following the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases and the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty Cases (2003), as the minimum standards for high quality representation. Preference will be given to candidates who meet the qualifications for lead appellate/post-conviction counsel in death penalty cases as set forth in Idaho Criminal Rule 44.3 and IDAPA 61.01.02.070.02. Trial experience is preferred. A valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and the ability to travel within and outside the State of Idaho is required. Candidate must be proficient with Microsoft Office suite, including Outlook, Word, and Excel.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
Lead Counsel must have a commitment to working with indigent clients and to working as part of a client-centered defense team. It is essential that Lead Counsel have empathy and compassion towards clients and a dedication to advocacy on behalf of those sentenced to death. Excellent research, writing, and communication skills are essential. Substantial familiarity with civil procedure or post-conviction processes is preferred. Lead Counsel must be detail-oriented and able to exercise sound professional judgment. The ability to interact with diverse individuals, including but not limited to clients, their families, prosecutors, other attorneys, investigators, judges, court clerks, experts, fact witnesses, and members of the public, is essential.
Lead Counsel must be able to manage an active caseload of at least three capital cases at various stages of proceedings in the district court and on appeal. Lead Counsel must be able to maintain client confidentiality and work independently with minimal supervision, or collaboratively with other team members, as the situation demands. Lead Counsel must be able to work occasional evenings and weekends to meet deadlines and hearing schedules.
