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).