Virginia Indigent Defense Commission - Northern Virginia Capital Defender Office

The Virginia Indigent Defense Commission's Northern VIrginia Capital Defender Office represents poor persons charged with capital murder and facing the death penalty throughout Northern Virginia in the state courts. The office delivers capital defense services through a staff of dedicated attorneys, mitigation specialists and investigators, and office manager, as well as contracting with outside fact investigators, mental health professionals, and other experts. The office emphasizes team-based defense and a holistic approach to questions of culpability and mitigation. All members of the office are committed to the following values:

• Excellence in the provision of capital defender services for indigent defendants, accepting that the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases set a high, yet still minimum, standard in the field;
• Client-centered and relationship-based work that respects the humanity and dignity of all involved in the criminal justice system; and
• Innovation and creativity in the provision of capital defense services.