The Sentencing Advocacy Group of Evanston is a multi-disciplinary mitigation and sentencing-advocacy practice. We are available to work nation-wide on both capital and non-capital cases.
Sage has conducted social history investigations in more than 80 cases: state and federal, capital and non-capital, pre-trial and post-conviction. In every case, we provide detailed information about the social, biological, and environmental forces that have shaped our client, relying upon interviews and record collection. We act as a liaison between the defendant and the lawyer to reduce the burden on the attorney and to strengthen the relationship between the defendant and the entire defense team. We work with the defense attorney to identify additional experts, such as mental-health, medical, or cultural experts, and then act as a liaison and information source for those experts.
We compile all of the resulting information into a unified narrative that attempts to explain the context of the crime and the client’s humanity.
Sage has conducted social history investigations in more than 80 cases: state and federal, capital and non-capital, pre-trial and post-conviction. In every case, we provide detailed information about the social, biological, and environmental forces that have shaped our client, relying upon interviews and record collection. We act as a liaison between the defendant and the lawyer to reduce the burden on the attorney and to strengthen the relationship between the defendant and the entire defense team. We work with the defense attorney to identify additional experts, such as mental-health, medical, or cultural experts, and then act as a liaison and information source for those experts.
We compile all of the resulting information into a unified narrative that attempts to explain the context of the crime and the client’s humanity.
Why do you need a capital mitigation specialist?
Capital mitigation specialists must conduct a mitigation investigation consistent with the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases and the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear:
The Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear:
To provide effective assistance of counsel in death-penalty cases, the defense team must conduct a mitigation investigation that includes “a thorough investigation of the defendant’s background.” Citing the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, the Court explains, “among the topics counsel should consider presenting are medical history, educational history, employment and training history, family and social history, prior adult and juvenile correctional experience, and religious and cultural influences.” That is part of the mitigation specialist’s job.
As capital mitigation specialists, we conduct a mitigation investigation consistent with the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases and the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function.
We conduct extensive, multi-generational interviews, apply a “scorched-earth” philosophy of record collection, and provide the attorneys whom we work with a clear, concise report of our findings that is tailored to the needs of the case. We also work with the attorneys to develop themes, identify and collaborate with experts, and prepare compelling trial presentations.
Of course we will adapt our practice to your preferences, but generally, for each case we prepare a life-history chronology and a log of records gathered. Unless you prefer that we don't, we also prepare written reports for each interview and provide you copies of all the records that we gather.
We are also happy to help seek out and coordinate with experts. Because the results of our social-history investigation are so important to an effective psychiatric consultation, should you decide to hire a psychologist or other mental-health expert, we would be very grateful to be involved with the selection of the expert and the formulation of the referral question.
We conduct extensive, multi-generational interviews, apply a “scorched-earth” philosophy of record collection, and provide the attorneys whom we work with a clear, concise report of our findings that is tailored to the needs of the case. We also work with the attorneys to develop themes, identify and collaborate with experts, and prepare compelling trial presentations.
Of course we will adapt our practice to your preferences, but generally, for each case we prepare a life-history chronology and a log of records gathered. Unless you prefer that we don't, we also prepare written reports for each interview and provide you copies of all the records that we gather.
We are also happy to help seek out and coordinate with experts. Because the results of our social-history investigation are so important to an effective psychiatric consultation, should you decide to hire a psychologist or other mental-health expert, we would be very grateful to be involved with the selection of the expert and the formulation of the referral question.
Why do you need a mitigation specialist in your juvenile-life-sentence case?
The Supreme Court, in its 2012 decision Miller v. Alabama, issued an invitation for the defense bar to create a fairer and more individualized sentencing landscape in juvenile cases with a potential sentence of life without parole, establishing that juvenile-life-without-parole cases are the constitutional equivalent of death-penalty cases. Therefore, the principles that govern capital-sentencing investigation apply. The defense team’s investigation must include an exhaustive examination of the defendant, his life, medical and mental health, social connections, and environment. Members of the defense team must conduct a mitigation investigation that allows the team members to know their clients’ life histories better than the team members know their own histories. Some key principles that should guide the sentencing-advocacy process in juvenile-life-without-parole-cases are: (1) a mitigation investigation must start immediately; (2) the investigation must include multiple in-person, one-on-one, face-to-face interviews and exhaustive record collection; (3) the investigation must include a multi-generational investigation of the defendant’s family; and (4) the defense team must include a mitigation specialist and other experts.
Sage is proud to have contributed to the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth's Trial Defense Guidelines: Representing a Child Client Facing a Possible Life Sentence. This document promises to be a valuable resource for practitioners in this cutting-edge legal landscape.
Sage is proud to have contributed to the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth's Trial Defense Guidelines: Representing a Child Client Facing a Possible Life Sentence. This document promises to be a valuable resource for practitioners in this cutting-edge legal landscape.
Why do you need a mitigation specialist on your non-capital case?
In non-capital cases, we conduct efficient and cost-effective investigations of our client’s life history, relying on interviews with our client and key people in our client’s life and on a strategic collection of important records. We pre-screen to identify mental-health, substance- abuse, or health issues that may require expert evaluation, and we facilitate the expert’s work.
Based upon our investigation, we prepare either a report or live testimony that provides a alternative, more detailed, and more accurate narrative than the one presented by the prosecution or by pretrial services and that humanizes the client. We enable the defense attorney to present the client in the context of his personal history, so that prosecutors, judge, jury, and corrections officials are able to see our client as a whole person rather than simply as a list of criminal charges. This work will better position the attorney to advocate for a reduction in the charges, and favorable disposition by plea bargain, a lower sentence after conviction, or needed treatment during incarceration.
Based upon our investigation, we prepare either a report or live testimony that provides a alternative, more detailed, and more accurate narrative than the one presented by the prosecution or by pretrial services and that humanizes the client. We enable the defense attorney to present the client in the context of his personal history, so that prosecutors, judge, jury, and corrections officials are able to see our client as a whole person rather than simply as a list of criminal charges. This work will better position the attorney to advocate for a reduction in the charges, and favorable disposition by plea bargain, a lower sentence after conviction, or needed treatment during incarceration.