Very few capital defendants can afford their own attorneys. The right to an attorney is a hallmark of the American judicial system guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Criminal Justice Act.

In Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court explained the importance of this right: "[I]n our adversary system of criminal justice, any person hauled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him." The right to counsel protects defendants from being subjected to criminal prosecution in an unfair trial. And nowhere is this right more important than when the penalty is death.

The United States Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court

The Capital Habeas Unit (CHU) protects the constitutional rights of indigent people sentenced to death. When a person is sentenced to death in Arizona, that man or woman is entitled to an automatic direct appeal and post conviction proceedings in the state courts. Once the person completes all state court proceedings, he or she may challenge the constitutionality of the conviction or sentence in federal habeas corpus proceedings. The CHU represents most of the people on death row in Arizona in federal habeas corpus proceedings. The CHU also represents people on death row in other states when appointed by a federal court.

A team of attorneys, investigators, social workers, paralegals, interpreters, administrative personnel, an IT team, all work together to provide the highest quality representation to our clients.

Our Work

On the steps to the Supreme Court
CHU attorney, Leticia Marquez, on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court after her oral argument

The CHU was established in 1996 with two attorneys and three other staff. Now, there are approximately twenty-five attorneys and twenty-five other staff that make up the CHU. The CHU attorneys and staff come from all over the country, dedicating themselves to vigorously representing our clients' constitutional rights.

Attorneys in the CHU have national practice experience and represent people on death row in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and prisoners on federal death row in Terra Haute. The CHU attorneys regularly litigate in federal district court and the courts of appeals. The CHU has represented five clients in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Lawyers from the CHU have also litigated challenges to execution protocols in Arizona and Oklahoma.

A collection of Supreme Court briefs filed by the Arizona CHU office

A collection of Supreme Court briefs filed by the Arizona CHU office
A collection of Supreme Court briefs filed by the Arizona CHU office