How to Secure Funding for a Mitigation Investigation

• Fighting a Capital Case?

The Judicial Conference of the United States found that the use of a mitigation specialist is economically warranted. As the Committee on Defender Services reported in 1998, “The work performed by mitigation specialists is work which otherwise would have to be done by a lawyer, or a paralegal. Because the hourly rates approved for mitigation specialist are substantially lower than those authorized for attorneys, the appointment of a mitigation specialist/investigator generally produces a substantial reduction in the overall costs of representation.”

Wiggins v. Smith, 123 S. Ct. 2527 (2003) mandated that a life history investigation must be done. This decision is reinforced by the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases. According to these guidelines, mitigation experts are mandated as a part of the defense function. The “current consensus” of a capital defense team requires a minimum of two attorneys, an investigator, and a mitigation specialist.

• Not Fighting A Capital Case?

It is true that these mentioned mandates refer strictly to the defense in death penalty cases. However, we beg to differ. Many states are willing to give funding for public defenders to hire investigators for assistance, especially in violent criminal cases. A mitigation specialist is an investigator, an investigator of the defendant’s life.

If funds are extremely limited in your jurisdiction, at minimum, appoint a sentencing advocate to prepare a Sentencing Report, to be submitted to the judge along with the state agency’s pre-sentencing investigation.

• Privately Retained on a Case?

If you are an attorney privately retained on a case, or you have retained a private lawyer, you should know that mitigation fees are much lower than the attorney’s hourly rates. By hiring a specialist to investigate the background of the defendant you are paying less and allowing the attorney more time to handle the proceedings of the court. Attorneys are usually very surprised how many of their privately retained clients are willing to reduce their work load and hire some assistance by retaining a mitigation expert. Intermountain Mitigation is available to cover cases in all 50 states.