§2265 — Title 28 Judiciary and Judicial Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

If a proper State official asks, the Attorney General must decide three things: whether the State has a system to pick qualified lawyers, pay them, and cover reasonable legal costs for poor people sentenced to death who file state post‑conviction cases; the date that system started (which becomes the certification’s effective date); and whether the State has standards for lawyer competency. The Attorney General must make rules to run this certification process. Challenges to the Attorney General’s decision may be reviewed only under chapter 158, with the D.C. Circuit having exclusive jurisdiction (and the Supreme Court able to review under section 2350), and the courts will re‑examine the decision from scratch (de novo). Only the requirements in this chapter count for certification.

Title 28, §2265

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)If requested by an appropriate State official, the Attorney General of the United States shall determine—

(A)whether the State has established a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in State postconviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners who have been sentenced to death;

(B)the date on which the mechanism described in subparagraph (A) was established; and

(C)whether the State provides standards of competency for the appointment of counsel in proceedings described in subparagraph (A).

(2)The date the mechanism described in paragraph (1)(A) was established shall be the effective date of the certification under this subsection.

(3)There are no requirements for certification or for application of this chapter other than those expressly stated in this chapter.

(b)The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations to implement the certification procedure under subsection (a).

(c)(1)The determination by the Attorney General regarding whether to certify a State under this section is subject to review exclusively as provided under chapter 158 of this title.

(2)The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall have exclusive jurisdiction over matters under paragraph (1), subject to review by the Supreme Court under section 2350 of this title.

(3)The determination by the Attorney General regarding whether to certify a State under this section shall be subject to de novo review.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2265, added Pub. L. 104–132, title I, § 107(a), Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1223, related to the application of section 2262, 2263, 2264, and 2266 of this title to State unitary review procedures, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 109–177, title V, § 507(c)(1), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 250.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable to cases pending on or after Mar. 9, 2006, with special rule for certain cases pending on that date, see section 507(d) of Pub. L. 109–177, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2006 Amendment note under section 2251 of this title.

§2265 Certification and judicial review

Summary

Title 28, §2265

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata