THE CAPITAL DIVISION
TENNESSEE DISTRICT PUBLIC DEFENDERS CONFERENCE
1503 Parkway Towers
Nashville, TN 37243-1350
phone 615-532-3390
fax 615-532-3403

The Capital Division of the Tennessee Public Defenders Conference consists of its Chief Counsel, David Keefe, Deputy Counsel Jefferson Dorsey, and the Administrative Assistant and Office Manager, Leigh Smith.

The Capital Division is mandated to assist any attorneys--not just public defenders--who are assigned as counsel in a capital case. LWOP cases are methodologically similar to death cases, and we therefore treat them as death cases for purposes of our mission.

Our job is to confer with trial attorneys on every stage of trial, from earliest investigation and planning through direct appeal. We maintain contact with death-penalty lawyers, mitigation workers and other resources so we can help attorneys who are unsure where or how to obtain necessary resources for their cases.

We also assist lawyers in researching death penalty-related issues, and are building a library based upon the fruits of that research which is available to all Tennessee defense attorneys upon request. We will also place drafts of selected pleadings and briefs on the Conference's BBS and the TACDL Brief Bank web page so that interested attorneys who are members of TACDL may download them at their convenience.

The Capital Division publishes a bulletin, The Fight For Life, which is sent free of charge to defense attorneys throughout the state who are interested in capital litigation. We encourage input from any attorney who wishes to contribute to maintaining or raising the standards of practice in this area of the law. If you are not receiving The Fight For Life, please email or call the Capital Division and we will add you to our mailing list. TACDL members may search by keyword(s) and read the The Fight For Life library online.