On April 29, 2026, the Department of Justice published Notice of Requests for Certification of Capital Counsel Mechanisms of Florida and Mississippi in the Federal Register: SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the States of Florida and Mississippi have requested certification of their capital counsel mechanisms by the Attorney General and that public comments may be submitted to the Department of Justice regarding these requests. DATES: Written and electronic comments must be submitted on or before June 29, 2026. Comments received by mail will be considered timely if they are postmarked on or before that date. The electronic Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) will accept comments until Midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day. ADDRESSES: Please reference ‘‘Docket No. OLP184’’ on all electronic and written correspondence. The Department encourages all comments to be submitted electronically through http://www.regulations.gov using the electronic form provided on that site. Paper comments that duplicate the electronic submission should not be submitted. Individuals who wish to submit written comments may send those to the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section immediately below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aaron Haviland, Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530; telephone (202) 514–4601. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Chapter 154 of title 28, United States Code, provides special procedures for federal habeas corpus review of cases brought by indigent prisoners in state custody who are subject to capital sentences. These procedures may be available to a State only if the Attorney General of the United States has certified that the State has established a qualifying mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel. 28 U.S.C. 2261, 2265; 28 CFR part 26. This notice advises the public, pursuant to 28 CFR 26.23(b), that the States of Florida and Mississippi have requested certification of their capital counsel mechanisms by the Attorney General. Public comment is solicited regarding these requests. The requests and supporting materials may be viewed at https://www.justice.gov/olp/pending- requests-final-decisions. Dated: April 21, 2026. Daniel E. Burrows, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy.
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See the Upcoming Seminars page for information about the 2026 Persuasion Institute, to be held at Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York from June 29-July 1, 2026, and how to register.
REGISTRATION WILL OPEN IN MID MAY
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This nationally recognized program, the only one of its kind, focuses on representation in capital post-conviction and habeas cases in toto. Among other topics, experienced capital habeas litigators will address the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions (and cases currently pending in the Court) on capital post-conviction and clemency practice, as well as sessions addressing new developments and trends in the federal courts of appeal and other state and federal courts. There will also be sessions on emerging trends in capital cases where intellectual disability, competency, or other aspects of a client’s mental health or cognitive abilities are at issue. The program will also address new legislative initiatives and administrative actions that may affect capital habeas representation. There will also be a track for those new to capital post-conviction practice. Individual case consultations will also be available, upon request, to persons attending the seminar.
On March 12, 2026, the Department of Justice submitted a proposed new rule for the Certification Process for State Capital Counsel Systems, i.e., the process for certifying whether applying states have satisfied the requirements for receiving expedited federal habeas corpus review pursuant to Chapter 154 of Title 28 of the United States Code. There is a 60 day comment period beginning on the date of publication in the Federal Register, March 16, 2026.
SAVE THE DATE: May 28-31, 2026
Atlanta, GA
The Twenty-Third National Seminar on the Development and Integration of Mitigating Evidence in Capital Cases
Program Description
Registration is now open for the 2026 Capital Mitigation Skills Workshop. For information about the program and the registration process, see the Upcoming Seminars tab, above.
SAVE THE DATE
The Persuasion Institute: A Workshop in Legal Storytelling and Narrative Constructions for Capital Post-Conviction Counsel
June 29 - July 1, 2026
Cornell Law School
Ithaca, NY
Registration will open in March
This unique and innovative program was designed by Professor Anthony G. Amsterdam, together with HAT counsel, to improve habeas advocacy by teaching participants techniques that can be used in persuasive oral and written advocacy, including the effective use of narrative tools such as the “elements” of story, theme choice, plot, setting, perspective, and sequence. This will be accomplished in a non-traditional manner by bringing together capital post-conviction attorneys, professional non-fiction, and fiction writers, and legal as well as literary academics working together in developing and conveying to participants persuasive advocacy techniques in a combined lecture, group brainstorming session and small group discussion formats.
SAVE THE DATE
Capital Mitigation Skills Workshop
January 15-18, 2026
The University of Texas at Austin School of Law
Austin, TX
Registration will open in late October 2025
Program Description
The Sixteenth Capital Mitigation Skills Workshop, which began in 2012, will consist of a combination of lectures and interactive exercises designed to develop the basic skills required in the development of mitigation evidence in death penalty cases. Utilizing a case hypothetical, participants will brainstorm about potential mitigation themes and identify “red flags” requiring investigation. Life-history records will also be reviewed to identify these mitigation themes, hypotheses, questions, and investigative follow-up. Interviewing exercises in small groups will cover a variety of areas, including trauma, the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, and cognitive impairments and adaptive deficits. Participants will be asked to interview a variety of different witnesses, including the client and to draft a declaration. The seminar will also emphasize the importance of case organization and provide a sample of a basic mitigation tool kit (including genograms and chronologies).
On August 7, 2025, the Department of Justice will publish in the Federal Register a request for comments to the applications by Alabama and Tennessee for certification that their capital post-conviction counsel mechanisms comply with the requirements of Chapter 154 of title 28, United States Code, which provides special procedures for federal habeas corpus review of cases brought by indigent prisoners in State custody who are subject to capital sentences.
On June 6, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the certiorari petition of the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections in the case of Hamm v. Smith, 24-872. The respondent, Joseph Smith, was found entitled to relief on his Atkins claim by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Smith v. Commissioner, 2024 WL 4793028 (11th Cir.), following an earlier remand from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court constructed the question presented: "Whether and how courts may consider the cumulative effect of multiple IQ scores in assessing an Atkins claim."
Click here to view the commissioner's certiorari petition.