Attorneys with death penalty expertise hope training remains

SPRINGFIELD — Attorneys experienced with capital cases say even if Gov. Pat Quinn abolishes the death penalty in Illinois, the ultimate punishment could leave behind a legacy of better-trained lawyers.

After former Gov. George Ryan cleared Illinois' death row before he left office, state lawmakers adopted reforms requiring attorneys to take specialized training before they could try death penalty cases.

The classes focus on issues — such as DNA evidence — that come up in the highest-profile, most complex cases.

But that kind of training comes in handy in cases that don't include capital punishment, too.

“I think it sort of raised the bar,” said Chicago-based defense attorney Steve Richards, who has specialized in death penalty cases and training.

Illinois attorneys who gain an expertise in death penalty cases are admitted to the Capital Litigation Trial Bar. It now has more than 850 members, according to the most recent list.

It's unclear yet what would happen to that group if Quinn abolishes the death penalty, said Illinois Supreme Court spokesman Joe Tybor. It could be eliminated. It could be left in place in a different form.

“It would be a shame to lose all that we've learned about the importance of having well-trained lawyers trying these cases,” said Terri Mascherin, a Chicago-based attorney at Jenner and Block who works on the American Bar Association's Death Penalty Representation Project.

If Quinn repeals the Illinois death penalty, Mascherin said, Illinois attorneys trained to try those cases could help in cases out of state where qualified lawyers might be harder to come by.

More likely, though, attorneys would be able to use training in DNA and other high-level evidence on cases that would just have a different sentence attached — life without parole.

“Training is never wasted,” said Mascherin, who is president of the Chicago Bar Association.

The existence of that training, though, is part of the argument for why the death penalty shouldn't be abolished in Illinois. Better attorneys likely means fewer mistakes.

“We've been a leader now in the way we prosecute capital cases,” said Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican and member of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar.

Still, Reboletti says that if Quinn signs the death penalty out of existence in Illinois, there should remain in place training requirements for attorneys who take on the state's most serious criminal cases.

“I don't think we want people to stay in prison for the rest of their lives if they shouldn't be,” he said.

Quinn has until mid-March to decide what he wants to do with the legislation and has given no public clues about his intentions since lawmakers approved it last month.