Mend It or End It

On February 10, 2003, the American Bar Association (ABA) approved the revised edition of its Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases. Their purpose is to articulate the “national standard of practice for the defense of capital cases;” they “are not aspirational. Instead, they embody the current consensus about what is required to provide effective defense representation in capital cases.” The Guidelines are not the work of an organization opposed to capital punishment, nor are they intended to address the issue of its desirability. Rather, their core is a mandate that “any jurisdiction wishing to impose a death sentence must at minimum provide representation that comports with these Guidelines.”