Job Description
PDS Overview: The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) is a federally funded, independent organization governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees. PDS provides legal representation to individuals facing a loss of freedom in the local criminal, delinquency, and mental health systems in the District of Columbia. PDS is funded by federal appropriations, and all employees are entitled to participate in federal health and life insurance plans, federal retirement plans, Workers Compensation, and the Thrift Savings Plan. Transferring employees will receive recognition of creditable federal service for leave accrual and retirement purposes.
Employment at the Public Defender Service (PDS) is neither federal nor District of Columbia government employment, and all employees are at-will.
Division Description: The Special Litigation Division (SLD) handles a wide variety of litigation that seeks to vindicate the constitutional and statutory rights of PDS clients and to challenge pervasive unfair criminal justice practices, including the prosecution of juveniles as adults, eyewitness identification issues, forensic issues, and issues pertaining to the suppression of exculpatory information by the government. Currently the Division is focused on a number of issues, including post-conviction Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act cases.
The Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA) is a D.C. law enacted in April of 2017, which entitles certain individuals to new sentencing hearings. Individuals who were 16 and 17 years old at the time of the offense, who were charged and convicted as adults, and who have served at least 15 years in prison, are eligible. Because these cases involve lengthy sentences, those represented are serving time primarily for homicide, armed robbery, and rape convictions. At the resentencing hearing, IRAA requires the judge to consider certain factors, including the client’s life and circumstances at the time of the offense, any history of abuse or trauma, and any rehabilitation that has occurred since the sentencing.
Major Duties: This position is located in the Special Litigation Division. The purpose of the position is to obtain mitigation information and prepare comprehensive written mitigation reports. The incumbent conducts personal history background, evaluates social and legal factors, studies institutional records, interviews client and collateral persons, recommends interventions designed to help individual clients find satisfactory ways of coping with present and past personal trauma and social challenges that led to incarceration, and devises treatment/service alternatives to confinement that address continued rehabilitation needs upon community re-entry.
The work is focused on Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA) cases, including gathering and presenting evidence regarding the specific IRAA factors. Some of the Major Duties are:
1. Write detailed and comprehensive mitigation reports for IRAA cases. The mitigation reports will be filed in court as an attachment to each client’s IRAA motion. Reports will focus on the specific IRAA factors that were gathered, identified, and analyzed by the incumbent, including: the client’s life history, including any abuse, trauma, or involvement in the child welfare system; the client’s community circumstances leading up to and at the time of the offense; the defendant’s health and mental health, both at the time of the offense and since the conviction, including review of all mental health reports and medical reports; the circumstances of the offense, including the extent of the client’s involvement and the involvement of adults; the defendant’s age and how the client’s age affected his participation in the crime; the victim’s statement or the statements of family of a deceased victim; court involvement; the client’s adjustment in prison, including compliance with the rules of the prison; the client’s participation in educational, vocational, or other programs in prison or reasons for lack of participation; the client’s demonstrated maturity, rehabilitation, and fitness to reenter society. Reports may have to be supplemented with additional documentation, video presentations, or testimony.
2. Conduct an ongoing, exhaustive and independent investigation of every aspect of the client’s character, life history, record, circumstances of the offense, rehabilitation, conduct in prison, and other factors, which may provide a basis for a reduced sentence. Work with the attorneys and investigators assigned to IRAA cases and work independently to develop a mitigation investigation plan and conduct the mitigation investigation. As part of the defense team, assist in developing mitigation strategies and themes.
3. Work with the assigned attorneys and investigators, as a key participant in the mitigation investigation, to gather documents for the mitigation report. Review and analyze records that relate to prior court involvement through criminal, juvenile, or neglect cases; social and family background, including genealogies; neighborhood and school; medical and mental health issues and treatment; adjustment and programming in the prison system; and other reports on relevant subjects such as cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, racial, and religious issues in the client’s life.
4. Conduct multiple, comprehensive and detailed in-person interviews, in a culturally competent manner, with: clients; clients’ family and friends, and other collateral witnesses connected to the client; witnesses to the underlying crimes; medical and mental health experts and treatment providers; and prison officials and volunteers working with client. Interviews include gathering clients’ socio-biographical (bio-psychosocial) information, the clients’ personal and multi-generational familial history, and information regarding the offense. Interviews with clients and some witnesses will be conducted at prisons and jails; other interviews may be conducted at homes or places of employment. Frequently, the mitigation specialist will be required to travel out of the area to conduct interviews and other aspects of the investigation.
5. Communicate with prison and jail officials regarding rehabilitation, education, treatment, and any disciplinary issues. Ensure that clients are receiving appropriate rehabilitation, education, and treatment services. Identify and address conditions of confinement issues.
6. Advise attorneys regarding appropriate mental health, cognitive, and mitigation experts. Consult with experts regarding mitigation information, rehabilitation information, and treatment information. Experts who may be consulted include psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, social workers, and prison experts.
7. Thorough consideration and analysis of potential mental health diagnoses and cognitive issues. Consideration of the impacts and potential treatment of trauma, abuse, and neglect. Consideration of the neurological and psychological attributes of teenagers, including its impact on behavior, decision-making, susceptibility to outside influence, and impulse control. Thorough exploration and development of all issues related to mental health, cognition, and psychological attributes, and potential treatments when appropriate.
8. Conduct reentry planning, including identifying and making referrals for mental health and medical services, employment, substance abuse treatment, education, and other services. Maintain familiarity with reentry service providers. Evaluate and recommend treatment options. Consult and work with social workers from PDS’ Office of Rehabilitation and Development (ORD) to develop and commit to writing a detailed and comprehensive reentry plan for each IRAA client.
9. Assist with discrete projects in SLD as assigned.
10. Other duties as assigned.