On October 21, 2013, the Project will join the Maurice A. Deane Law School at Hofstra University to host a Symposium marking the 10th anniversary of the publication of the 2003 ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases. The 2003 ABA Guidelines have been cited in more than 250 decisions by state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and are widely recognized as a national standard of care for counsel in capital cases. The Symposium will analyze the impact of the Guidelines on the quality and availability of counsel in capital cases.
The 2003 Guidelines are a revision of the original ABA Guidelines adopted in 1989. Beginning in 2001, the Project worked with experts, defenders, and ABA entities to review the Guidelines and identify necessary revisions. The revised edition was officially approved on February 10, 2003, and was publicized in the Hofstra Law Review on October 20, 2003.