34 USC 60302 - Capital prosecution improvement grants

Collapse to view only § 60302. Capital prosecution improvement grants

§ 60301. Capital representation improvement grants
§ 60302. Capital prosecution improvement grants
§ 60303. Applications
§ 60304. State reports
§ 60305. Evaluations by Inspector General and administrative remedies
§ 60306. Authorization of appropriations

§ 60301. Capital representation improvement grants

(a) In general

(b) Defined term

(1) shall be used to establish, implement, or improve an effective system for providing competent legal representation to—

(A) indigents charged with an offense subject to capital punishment;

(B) indigents who have been sentenced to death and who seek appellate or collateral relief in State court; and

(2) shall not be used to fund, directly or indirectly, representation in specific capital cases.

(d) Apportionment of funds

(1) In generalOf the funds awarded under subsection (a)—

(A) not less than 75 percent shall be used to carry out the purpose described in subsection (c)(1)(A); and

(B) not more than 25 percent shall be used to carry out the purpose described in subsection (c)(1)(B).

(2) Waiver

(e) Effective systemAs used in subsection (c)(1), an effective system for providing competent legal representation is a system that—

(1) invests the responsibility for appointing qualified attorneys to represent indigents in capital cases—

(A) in a public defender program that relies on staff attorneys, members of the private bar, or both, to provide representation in capital cases;

(B) in an entity established by statute or by the highest State court with jurisdiction in criminal cases, which is composed of individuals with demonstrated knowledge and expertise in capital cases, except for individuals currently employed as prosecutors; or

(C) pursuant to a statutory procedure enacted before October 30, 2004, under which the trial judge is required to appoint qualified attorneys from a roster maintained by a State or regional selection committee or similar entity; and

(2) requires the program described in paragraph (1)(A), the entity described in paragraph (1)(B), or an appropriate entity designated pursuant to the statutory procedure described in paragraph (1)(C), as applicable, to—

(A) establish qualifications for attorneys who may be appointed to represent indigents in capital cases;

(B) establish and maintain a roster of qualified attorneys;

(C) except in the case of a selection committee or similar entity described in paragraph (1)(C), assign 2 attorneys from the roster to represent an indigent in a capital case, or provide the trial judge a list of not more than 2 pairs of attorneys from the roster, from which 1 pair shall be assigned, provided that, in any case in which the State elects not to seek the death penalty, a court may find, subject to any requirement of State law, that a second attorney need not remain assigned to represent the indigent to ensure competent representation;

(D) conduct, sponsor, or approve specialized training programs for attorneys representing defendants in capital cases;

(E)

(i) monitor the performance of attorneys who are appointed and their attendance at training programs; and

(ii) remove from the roster attorneys who—(I) fail to deliver effective representation or engage in unethical conduct;(II) fail to comply with such requirements as such program, entity, or selection committee or similar entity may establish regarding participation in training programs; or(III) during the past 5 years, have been sanctioned by a bar association or court for ethical misconduct relating to the attorney’s conduct as defense counsel in a criminal case in Federal or State court; and

(F) ensure funding for the cost of competent legal representation by the defense team and outside experts selected by counsel, who shall be compensated—

(i) in the case of a State that employs a statutory procedure described in paragraph (1)(C), in accordance with the requirements of that statutory procedure; and

(ii) in all other cases, as follows:(I) Attorneys employed by a public defender program shall be compensated according to a salary scale that is commensurate with the salary scale of the prosecutor’s office in the jurisdiction.(II) Appointed attorneys shall be compensated for actual time and service, computed on an hourly basis and at a reasonable hourly rate in light of the qualifications and experience of the attorney and the local market for legal representation in cases reflecting the complexity and responsibility of capital cases.(III) Non-attorney members of the defense team, including investigators, mitigation specialists, and experts, shall be compensated at a rate that reflects the specialized skills needed by those who assist counsel with the litigation of death penalty cases.(IV) Attorney and non-attorney members of the defense team shall be reimbursed for reasonable incidental expenses.

(Pub. L. 108–405, title IV, § 421, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2286.)

§ 60302. Capital prosecution improvement grants

(a) In general

(b) Use of funds

(1) Permitted uses

Grants awarded under subsection (a) shall be used for one or more of the following:

(A) To design and implement training programs for State and local prosecutors to ensure effective representation in State capital cases.

(B) To develop and implement appropriate standards and qualifications for State and local prosecutors who litigate State capital cases.

(C) To assess the performance of State and local prosecutors who litigate State capital cases, provided that such assessment shall not include participation by the assessor in the trial of any specific capital case.

(D) To identify and implement any potential legal reforms that may be appropriate to minimize the potential for error in the trial of capital cases.

(E) To establish a program under which State and local prosecutors conduct a systematic review of cases in which a death sentence was imposed in order to identify cases in which post-conviction DNA testing may be appropriate.

(F) To provide support and assistance to the families of murder victims.

(2) Prohibited use

(Pub. L. 108–405, title IV, § 422, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2288.)

§ 60303. Applications

(a) In general

(b) Application

(1) In general

(2) ContentsEach application submitted under paragraph (1) shall contain—

(A) a certification by an appropriate officer of the State that the State authorizes capital punishment under its laws and conducts, or will conduct, prosecutions in which capital punishment is sought;

(B) a description of the communities to be served by the grant, including the nature of existing capital defender services and capital prosecution programs within such communities;

(i) reflects consultation with the judiciary, the organized bar, and State and local prosecutor and defender organizations; and

(ii) establishes as a priority improvement in the quality of trial-level representation of indigents charged with capital crimes and trial-level prosecution of capital crimes;

(D) in the case of a State that employs a statutory procedure described in section 60301(e)(1)(C) of this title, a certification by an appropriate officer of the State that the State is in substantial compliance with the requirements of the applicable State statute; and

(E) assurances that Federal funds received under this chapter shall be—

(i) used to supplement and not supplant non-Federal funds that would otherwise be available for activities funded under this chapter; and

(ii) allocated in accordance with section 60306(b) of this title.

(Pub. L. 108–405, title IV, § 423, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2288.)

§ 60304. State reports

(a) In generalEach State receiving funds under this chapter shall submit an annual report to the Attorney General that—

(1) identifies the activities carried out with such funds; and

(2) explains how each activity complies with the terms and conditions of the grant.

(b) Capital representation improvement grantsWith respect to the funds provided under section 60301 of this title, a report under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) an accounting of all amounts expended;

(2) an explanation of the means by which the State—

(A) invests the responsibility for identifying and appointing qualified attorneys to represent indigents in capital cases in a program described in section 60301(e)(1)(A) of this title, an entity described in section 60301(e)(1)(B) of this title, or a selection committee or similar entity described in section 60301(e)(1)(C) of this title; and

(B) requires such program, entity, or selection committee or similar entity, or other appropriate entity designated pursuant to the statutory procedure described in section 60301(e)(1)(C) of this title, to—

(i) establish qualifications for attorneys who may be appointed to represent indigents in capital cases in accordance with section 60301(e)(2)(A) of this title;

(ii) establish and maintain a roster of qualified attorneys in accordance with section 60301(e)(2)(B) of this title;

(iii) assign attorneys from the roster in accordance with section 60301(e)(2)(C) of this title;

(iv) conduct, sponsor, or approve specialized training programs for attorneys representing defendants in capital cases in accordance with section 60301(e)(2)(D) of this title;

(v) monitor the performance and training program attendance of appointed attorneys, and remove from the roster attorneys who fail to deliver effective representation or fail to comply with such requirements as such program, entity, or selection committee or similar entity may establish regarding participation in training programs, in accordance with section 60301(e)(2)(E) of this title; and

(vi) ensure funding for the cost of competent legal representation by the defense team and outside experts selected by counsel, in accordance with section 60301(e)(2)(F) of this title, including a statement setting forth—(I) if the State employs a public defender program under section 60301(e)(1)(A) of this title, the salaries received by the attorneys employed by such program and the salaries received by attorneys in the prosecutor’s office in the jurisdiction;(II) if the State employs appointed attorneys under section 60301(e)(1)(B) of this title, the hourly fees received by such attorneys for actual time and service and the basis on which the hourly rate was calculated;(III) the amounts paid to non-attorney members of the defense team, and the basis on which such amounts were determined; and(IV) the amounts for which attorney and non-attorney members of the defense team were reimbursed for reasonable incidental expenses;

(3) in the case of a State that employs a statutory procedure described in section 60301(e)(1)(C) of this title, an assessment of the extent to which the State is in compliance with the requirements of the applicable State statute; and

(4) a statement confirming that the funds have not been used to fund representation in specific capital cases or to supplant non-Federal funds.

(c) Capital prosecution improvement grantsWith respect to the funds provided under section 60302 of this title, a report under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) an accounting of all amounts expended;

(2) a description of the means by which the State has—

(A) designed and established training programs for State and local prosecutors to ensure effective representation in State capital cases in accordance with section 60302(b)(1)(A) of this title;

(B) developed and implemented appropriate standards and qualifications for State and local prosecutors who litigate State capital cases in accordance with section 60302(b)(1)(B) of this title;

(C) assessed the performance of State and local prosecutors who litigate State capital cases in accordance with section 60302(b)(1)(C) of this title;

(D) identified and implemented any potential legal reforms that may be appropriate to minimize the potential for error in the trial of capital cases in accordance with section 60302(b)(1)(D) of this title;

(E) established a program under which State and local prosecutors conduct a systematic review of cases in which a death sentence was imposed in order to identify cases in which post-conviction DNA testing may be appropriate in accordance with section 60302(b)(1)(E) of this title; and

(F) provided support and assistance to the families of murder victims; and

(3) a statement confirming that the funds have not been used to fund the prosecution of specific capital cases or to supplant non-Federal funds.

(d) Public disclosure of annual State reports

(Pub. L. 108–405, title IV, § 424, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2289.)

§ 60305. Evaluations by Inspector General and administrative remedies

(a) Evaluation by Inspector General

(1) In general

As soon as practicable after the end of the first fiscal year for which a State receives funds under a grant made under this chapter, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (in this section referred to as the “Inspector General”) shall—

(A) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report evaluating the compliance by the State with the terms and conditions of the grant; and

(B) if the Inspector General concludes that the State is not in compliance with the terms and conditions of the grant, specify any deficiencies and make recommendations to the Attorney General for corrective action.

(2) Priority

(3) Determination for statutory procedure States

(4) Comments from public

(b) Administrative review

(1) Comment

(2) Corrective action plan

(3) Report to Congress

(d) Periodic reports

(e) Administrative costs

(f) Special rule for “statutory procedure” States not in substantial compliance with statutory procedures

(1) In general

(2) Rule of construction

(Pub. L. 108–405, title IV, § 425, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2291.)

§ 60306. Authorization of appropriations

(a) Authorization for grants

There are authorized to be appropriated 1

1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a dash.

(1) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2017;

(2) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2018;

(3) $12,500,000 for fiscal year 2019;

(4) $17,500,000 for fiscal year 2020; and

(5) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2021.2

2 So in original.

to carry out this chapter.

(b) Restriction on use of funds to ensure equal allocation

(Pub. L. 108–405, title IV, § 426, Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2292; Pub. L. 114–324, § 10, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1956.)