Mitigation Specialist & Investigator

Established in 2010, the Office of Capital & Forensic Writs (OCFW) is a small, close-knit public defender office in Austin, Texas. We proudly provide zealous, client-centered postconviction representation to indigent persons in Texas, consistent with the Guidelines and Standards for Texas Capital Counsel and the Supplementary Guidelines and Standards for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Texas Death Penalty Cases adopted by the State Bar of Texas. We litigate post-conviction claims relating to the constitutionality of convictions and sentences through two separate programs: 

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1. Investigating and litigating constitutional claims relating to death penalty convictions and sentences; 

2. Representing incarcerated persons in cases involving flawed forensic science. 

The work OCFW does in Texas is making an impact. Over the last two years:

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• The Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the death sentences of two separate clients based on constitutional violations, one after 37 years, the other after 16 years.

• The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of an OCFW client, in whose case a Texas judge previously held that it would “shock the conscience to allow the conviction” to stand because the forensic evidence against him at trial was flawed and false.

• Texas courts have found constitutional violations and recommend new trials or sentencings in four separate OCFW capital cases. 

OCFW is hiring a mitigation specialist to investigate on our clients’ behalf. Salary will depend on experience.  

We are specifically seeking candidates with Spanish language skills and those with other experiences and skills that contribute to client representation.

The mitigation specialist will work as part of a team, alongside attorneys and paralegals, to provide holistic, post-conviction representation to clients in state post-conviction proceedings through investigation.

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Although this work can be difficult, we consider ourselves fortunate to work alongside compassionate, dedicated, and collaborative colleagues to provide the best possible representation to our clients.

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Aspects of this work include:

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• Identifying and locating witnesses, and traveling across the state and country to interview them in their homes. Witnesses include complaining witnesses, law enforcement and eyewitnesses, the client’s friends, family, teachers, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Depending on the needs of a case, mitigation specialists may perform both mitigation and culpability investigation.

• Conducting a culturally competent social history investigation by establishing on-going relationships with the client and family, and interviewing witnesses who are knowledgeable about the client at every phase of his or her life, and maintaining a close relationship based on trust and rapport with multiple clients. Our clients are usually housed at the Polunsky Unit prison in Livingston, Texas. Each member of the team visits clients frequently.

• Gathering and analyzing relevant records and anecdotes to develop information concerning the circumstances of the alleged crime and the client’s life history. From the information we gather, mitigation specialists draft memos, construct timelines, and assist in drafting the social history narrative of the client’s life and family history.

• Working independently by managing the competing priorities and deadlines of multiple cases. Mitigation specialists create and implement their own investigation plans after consulting with the case team members.

• Working as a member and facilitating the success of interdisciplinary teams of multiple attorneys, other mitigation specialists, supervisors, and experts. As a full member of each client’s case team, mitigation specialists collaborate in developing theories of the case and case strategies and providing litigation support to the team.           

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While OCFW supported remote work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently committed to a hybrid workplace. Currently, staff work at least two days a week in-office. The number of required in-office days is subject to change.  

Candidate Profile

Minimum Qualifications

• College degree

• An organized and precise work practice with attention to detail and accuracy

• A demonstrated commitment to the representation of death-sentenced persons and persons from marginalized communities;

• Excellent written and oral communication;

• Highly developed interpersonal and collaboration skills; Experience working with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and an awareness of the issues that must be overcome to successfully work with people who have life experiences you do not share.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bilingual in Spanish and English;

• Capital defense investigation experience;

• Experience working in a legal office that serves indigent communities

• Post-graduate degree study in a relevant field (e.g., M.S.W., cultural anthropology, psychology, sociology, African American or Latin American studies, public health, ethnography, law, or another field involving qualitative research);

• Familiarity or experience with identifying mental health symptoms, trauma, intellectual disabilities, forensic sciences, and/or issues of race, ethnicity and poverty within the criminal justice system or elsewhere.