Links to Valuable Resources
Legal Resources
- This document is a copy of one of the best mitigation resources around. Defense counsel in death penalty cases are required to investigate all aspects of the client’s life history and present all possible mitigating factors. The goal of a mitigation presentation is to take the jury for a walk in the defendant’s shoes. Mitigation evidence should never sound like an excuse for committing the crime. The defense counsel should also seek the assistance of a mitigation specialist. This article has many important cases. Link to article
- Capital Defense Weekly offers a number of cases that are helpful in obtaining funding for mitigation in capital cases. Link to article
- Wiggins vs. Smith – “Investigations into mitigating evidence should comprise efforts to discover all reasonable available mitigating evidence and evidence to rebut any aggravating evidence that may be introduced by the prosecutor.” Justice Sandra D. O’Connor, Wiggins v. Smith (2003) Link to full decision
- State of Arizona vs. Bocharski – “Finding an abuse of discretion for limiting the mitigation expert to twenty-five hours of investigation” The Arizona Supreme Court reversed the death penalty and remanded for resentencing. State of Arizona v. Bocharski (2008) Link to full decision
- United States Supreme Court decision regarding an affirmative obligation on the part of defense counsel to advice defendants regarding immigration consequences of guilty pleas. Link to full decision.
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