FY 2009 Grant Awards

Overview:
In the President's 2005 State of the Union Address, he proposed an initiative to fund special training for capital cases. BJA responded by convening a focus group, which brought state and local practitioners together to design a project that would improve the quality of representation and the reliability of verdicts in state and local capital cases through training for state and local prosecutors, defense counsel and trial judges. With information from the focus group, BJA developed and funded a three-prong planning initiative that offered to and was accepted by the three lead agencies identified in the focus group meeting, which include the National District Attorneys Association, the National Legal Aid & Defenders Association and the National Judicial College. In FY 2005, national curriculums were developed for key constituencies and through pilot trainings were refined and delivered at the state and local level. The trainings focus on investigation techniques; pretrial and trial procedures, including the use of expert testimony and forensic science evidence; advocacy in capital cases; and capital case sentencing-phase procedures.

In FY 2006, implementation of the program progressed although BJA received one million dollars instead of the $20 million dollars requested. That funding was divided evenly, giving each discipline-judges, prosecutors, and defense counsel-a share. Specific deliverables were prescribed for each discipline requiring each to deliver at least 4 state based/regional trainings and provide support implementing the trainings. The goal for FY 2006 funds was to build on the planning grant and previous trainings, continuing the capital case litigation training with state entities. BJA and each partner identified the states that received the training under the FY 2006 funds. The defense delivered trainings in Cleveland, Birmingham and Plano. The prosecutors trained in North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee; and the judges in Tennessee, Arizona, Alabama and Oklahoma.

In FY 2007, BJA awarded funding to continue training efforts, including trainings in South Carolina and Ohio for prosecutors; Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, and Indiana for defense attorneys; and Louisiana for judges. In addition to the technical assistance provided by our national partners, NACDL provided two national trainings for defense attorneys and the National Judicial College began work on curriculum development for the pilot cross-disciplinary training.

In FY 2008, CCLI was tied to new legislation which changed the program design and mandates equal funding for training for prosecutors and defense attorneys only. Based on the new restrictions, BJA was only able to fund prosecutorial training and defense training for Mississippi and Virginia, in addition to pilot cross-disciplinary training for Missouri, Arizona, and Texas. Funding was continued for national training and technical assistance as provided by our national partners and in addition two new partnerships were formed. First, Georgia State University will implement defense-initiated victim outreach (DIVO) in capital cases in up to four states, targeting both prosecutors and defense attorneys. DIVO creates the infrastructure within the criminal justice system to sustain the pretrial negotiation process that involves the defense, judiciary, and prosecution to ensure more reliable jury verdicts and sentences. Second, The National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law (NCSTL) will develop and deliver two forensic trainings for prosecutors and defense attorneys who may try capital cases. The training will focus on deciphering what evidence is necessary for trial, and subsequently must be sent to the crime lab for analysis, in addition to general forensic knowledge necessary in death penalty trials.

Legislation: The Capital Case Litigation Initiative (CCLI) is authorized by 42 U.S.C. §§14163 and 14163a.

Funding: FY 2010 funding has not yet been determined.

Eligibility: Applicants are limited to state agencies in states that authorize capital punishment and that conduct, or will conduct, prosecutions in which capital punishment is sought. For the state agency to be eligible, it must have an "effective system" for providing competent legal representation for indigent defendants in capital cases.

How/When To Apply: BJA released the FY 2010 solicitation on January 12, 2010, and applications are due via Grants.gov on March 11, 2010.

Contact Information:
Danica Szarvas-Kidd
Policy Advisor for Adjudication
Bureau of Justice Assistance
810 Seventh Street NW.
Washington, DC 20531
(202) 305-7418
Fax: (202) 307-0036
E-mail: danica.szarvas-kidd@usdoj.gov