What We Do

Direct Representation

Suzerain provides direct legal representation to indigent defendants facing capital murder charges at the state level. In order to focus our efforts and resources on the clients and their cases, we work in concert with local public defenders assigned to capital cases. This approach removes Suzerain staff from the bureaucratic day-to-day operations of the criminal justice system, and relieves significant pressure on public defenders with unreasonably high caseloads. 

Because Suzerain’s work is done pro bono – meaning not funded by the clients or the government – we are able to choose those cases in which our contribution is likely to have the greatest impact. In determining which cases to undertake, we are guided by the objective of providing representation to individuals who, because of the nature of the charges against them or the insufficiency of governmental funding, are at the greatest risk of being sentenced to death. The result is that those clients in the most precarious and helpless of circumstances are provided defense team members who are focused entirely on ensuring a rigorous and painstaking defense.

Assistance to Public Defenders

In cases in which Suzerain does not provide direct representation to individuals facing a potential sentence of death, we serve as a resource to public defenders handling capital cases. Assistance includes:

• evidence review;

• fact and mitigation investigation;

• legal research and motions drafting; and

• training in vital aspects of death penalty trial advocacy such as jury selection.

Since 2016, Suzerain has worked successfully with public defender teams from death penalty states across the country, including Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Missouri, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Virginia. In states where public defenders lack adequate funding, resources, and training, the need for assistance in death penalty cases is dire.  Suzerain seeks to fill the gap that exists between constitutional ideals and the distressing realities of the criminal justice system.

Education to Law Students

Suzerain provides experiential and hands-on education to law students interested in pursuing careers in indigent capital defense. Student interns work directly with Suzerain staff on pending cases, and are involved in many aspects of case development and trial preparation, including:

• evidence review

• fact investigation

• mitigation investigation

• witness interviewing

• expert consultation

• research and writing of legal memoranda and motions

• defense team meetings, and

• preparation for in-court proceedings.

Because Suzerain is a small entity, interns receive the benefit of one-on-one mentorship. In exchange for the assistance they contribute, Suzerain seeks to provide interns with a firsthand understanding of what it is like to be a member of a team that stands between a human being and a potential sentence of death, and the enormity of the responsibilities born by those who choose to do this work.