Recent News

February 27, 2009

Supreme Court Seeks Comments on Capital Case Representation Rule

The Supreme Court of Ohio will accept public comment until March 17 on amendments to the rules concerning appointment of counsel for indigent defendants in capital cases.

Proposed amendments to Sup. R. 20 would split the former omnibus rule into separate specific rules for clarification purposes. In addition, the proposed amendments would give the Rule 20 Committee the ability to adopt best practices for representing indigent death penalty defendants and mandate that continuing education for certified attorneys must include the best practices adopted by the committee. The proposed amendments also push back the date (from July 1 to Dec. 31) when the committee revokes certification for attorneys who are out of compliance with specialized training requirements for the prior two-year period.

Visit www.sconet.state.oh.us/RuleAmendments/ for the text of the proposed amendments. Comments should be submitted in writing to: Tammy White, Attorney Services Coordinator, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 S. Front St., Fifth Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215 or whitet@sconet.state.oh.us.