Certification Process for State Capital Counsel Systems

Chapter 154 of title 28, U.S. Code, provides special procedures for federal habeas corpus review of cases brought by prisoners in state custody who are under a sentence of death. The special procedures are available to States the Attorney General has certified as having mechanisms for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in state postconviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners, and providing standards of competency for the appointment of such counsel. This rule would remove impediments to certification chapter 154 does not authorize and would enable more prompt decisions on States’ requests for certification.