Public notice on Florida and Mississippi requests to certify capital counsel systems
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
This notice says Florida and Mississippi have asked the U.S. Attorney General to certify their systems for appointing and paying defense counsel in death penalty cases. If certified, those states can use a special federal habeas process that speeds up review of some capital cases. DOJ is asking for public comments, so the main action for interested parties is to review the state submissions and send comments by June 29, 2026.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- Florida and Mississippi are seeking federal certification of their capital counsel systems.
- The Attorney General will consider whether the states meet the requirements for appointing and paying competent defense counsel in death penalty cases.
- The public can submit comments on the requests until June 29, 2026.
Obligations
What this law requires
The Department of Justice must accept and consider public comments on Florida’s and Mississippi’s requests for certification of their capital counsel mechanisms before deciding whether to certify them.
Interested members of the public may submit comments to the Department of Justice regarding Florida’s and Mississippi’s requests for certification of their capital counsel mechanisms.
Written and electronic comments must be submitted by June 29, 2026 to be considered timely.
Commenters submitting written or electronic correspondence regarding this docket must reference “Docket No. OLP184” on all submissions.
Comments sent by mail must be postmarked on or before June 29, 2026 to be considered timely.