Assistant Federal Public Defender - Capital Habeas Unit

United States Courts; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

FERS retirement system

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Transit subsidy

Free parking

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Job summary

Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Ohio, is hiring two Assistant Federal Public Defenders for its Capital Habeas Unit. The role focuses on representing clients sentenced to death in federal habeas proceedings, including complex litigation, mitigation development, and clemency work.

Ideal candidates have substantial post-bar litigation experience, strong writing skills, and the ability to work across a multidisciplinary team under deadlines and high-stakes conditions.

Qualifications

• Graduate of an accredited law school and in good standing to practice in any state.
• At least three years of post-bar litigation, appellate, or post-conviction experience.
• Strong research, analytical and writing abilities; ability to master extensive factual records and complex histories.
• Experience with federal habeas corpus law and procedure, including AEDPA and 28 U.S.C. §2254.
• Ability to communicate effectively and work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team.
• Willingness to travel for client visits, investigations, and court proceedings.

Responsibilities

• Represent clients sentenced to death in federal habeas corpus proceedings, appeals, clemency matters, and related proceedings.
• Review and master extensive trial, appellate, and post-conviction records; reconstruct procedural histories; identify issues needing development.
• Research and litigate constitutional and procedural questions, including AEDPA and 28 U.S.C. §2254.
• Develop litigation strategies accounting for deadlines, exhaustion, procedural default, standards of review, and factual development.
• Draft petitions, motions and briefs for the district courts, the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court.
• Collaborate with researchers, paralegals, investigators, and mitigation specialists to investigate claims.
• Investigate life histories and build clemency and mitigation presentations conveying client humanity.
• Prepare for and participate in evidentiary hearings, oral arguments, and clemency proceedings.
• Build trusting attorney-client relationships through communication, visits, and client-centered decision making.
• Manage records, investigative materials, expert reports, and deadlines using secure tools to organize large records.
• Share research and strategies with colleagues and mentor junior lawyers and interns.

Skills

Legal research

Writing skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Judgment under pressure

Team collaboration

Travel willingness

Education

Law degree (J.D.)

Job description

Job Details for Assistant Federal Public Defender - Capital Habeas Unit

Court Name/Organization Ohio Northern Federal Public Defender

Overview of the Position If you want to stand beside a client whose life depends on you, on the quality of your work, the painstaking investigation, the detail-oriented writing, and the zealous litigation their case demands, this job is for you. Capital Habeas work is where the promises of our Constitution are tested hardest: the right to effective counsel, to a fair trial, and to a sentence that reflects the whole person and does not sentence a person based on what happened on their worst day. Our Capital Habeas Unit keeps those promises for people who cannot afford a lawyer, whatever their race, background, or circumstances, and we do it as one team.The Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio is hiring two Assistant Federal Public Defenders for our Capital Habeas Unit. The CHU provides specialized federal habeas and clemency representation to people sentenced to death by the State of Ohio. Its work brings together litigation strategy, factual investigation, mitigation development, expert assistance, and advocacy in federal courts and related proceedings.We are looking for lawyers who wants to know the record, question what is missing, develop the facts, and keep working when the path forward is difficult. This is demanding, consequential work. It requires intellectual rigor, independent judgment, patience, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to the client.

Announcement Number 2026-11 CHU Assistant Federal Public Defender

Position Description

As an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Capital Habeas Unit, you will:

• Represent clients sentenced to death in federal habeas corpus proceedings, appeals, clemencymatters, and related proceedings
• Review and master extensive trial, appellate, and post-conviction records; reconstruct proceduralhistories; and identify factual and legal issues requiring further development
• Research and litigate complex constitutional and procedural questions, including issues arisingunder the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and 28 U.S.C. § 2254
• Develop litigation strategies that account for filing deadlines, exhaustion, procedural default,standards of review, and limits on factual development
• Draft clear, persuasive petitions, motions, and briefs for the federal district courts, theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States
• Work shoulder-to-shoulder with research and writing attorneys, paralegals, investigators, andmitigation specialists to investigate claims and develop supporting evidence
• Investigate clients’ life histories and work with the team to build clemency and mitigation presentationsthat convey each client’s humanity and circumstances
• Prepare for and participate in evidentiary hearings, oral arguments, and clemency proceedings
• Build trusting attorney-client relationships through regular communication, prison visits, candid advice, and respect for the client’s decisions
• Manage extensive records, investigative materials, expert reports, and competing deadlines, usingmodern tools, including the office’s secure, locally hosted AI, to search and organize largerecords while verifying every fact against the source
• Share research, strategies, and constructive feedback with colleagues, and help newer lawyers, law clerks, and interns grow

Qualifications

Applicants must:

• Be a graduate of an accredited law school and a member in good standing of the bar of any state
• Have at least three years of post-bar legal experience, including substantial litigation, appellate, or post-conviction work. Relevant judicial clerkship experience may count toward this requirement
• Demonstrate strong legal research, analytical, and writing skills, and the ability to master extensive factual records and complicated procedural histories
• Have experience with, or demonstrate the ability to develop proficiency in, federal habeas corpus law and procedure, including AEDPA and 28 U.S.C. § 2254
• Communicate effectively with clients and work collaboratively with attorneys, paralegals, mitigation specialists, investigators, support staff, and experts
• Exercise sound professional judgment and maintain a professional demeanor under pressure
• Travel as required for client visits, investigations, court proceedings, and training
• Familiarity with the 28 U.S.C. § 154 "Opt In" process is an asset

Capital litigation, federal habeas, appellate advocacy, evidentiary hearing, and mitigation experience are particularly valuable. Prior jury trial experience is welcome but is not a prerequisite. Applicants must be admitted to, or willing to seek admission to, the courts required for their assigned work, including the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

General Experience

The right person for this job is thoughtful, tenacious, and exacting, but also humble and easy to work with. Both halves matter. Above all, we look for three qualities:

• You keep digging. Nobody has to push you. You are curious about what happened, what was overlooked, and what further work may reveal; you take on the next task before you are asked; and you keep going when progress is slow. You measure your effort not by hours logged but by whether you have done everything the client’s case requires.
• You put the client and the team ahead of yourself. You share credit, admit mistakes quickly, and invite scrutiny of your drafts and ideas. You respect the expertise of mitigation specialists, investigators, paralegals, and experts, and you are as willing to review a box of records as to argue in court.
• You read people as well as you read a record. You understand how your words land with a client, a grieving family member, a reluctant witness, or a colleague facing a deadline. You listen before you speak, read a room, and work professionally with opposing counsel and court personnel.

Specialized Experience

We also want:

• Commitment. A commitment to representing people sentenced to death with dignity, loyalty, and persistence, as a calling rather than a resume line.
• Analytical rigor and writing. The ability to untangle complicated records, identify substantial issues, and write clear, precise, persuasive arguments that make difficult facts and law understandable.
• Judgment. The ability to set priorities, weigh difficult choices, and adapt when the facts or the law change.
• Organization. The discipline to manage large records, long-term projects, and urgent deadlines without losing track of details.
• Cultural fluency. The life experience, humility, and sensitivity to connect with clients whose backgrounds may differ from your own.

Prior capital habeas experience is strongly preferred, but it is not the only path in. We welcome applicants with substantial experience in appellate litigation, post-conviction litigation, criminal defense, or other complex litigation whose work demonstrates the research, writing,investigation, and judgment this position requires. We especially encourage applications from attorneys whose backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are underrepresented in the capital defense bar.

Employee Benefits

Salary is $80,138 to $197,100, depending on education and years of relevant experience, consistent with federal guidelines. Benefits include health, dental, vision, and life insurance; the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS); Social Security; the Thrift Savings Plan; transit subsidy; free parking; 11 federal holidays; annual and sick leave; and eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Employees are at-will and are not covered by the Civil Service Reform Act. Employment is subject to the availability of funds, successful completion of a background check, and U.S. citizenship or eligibility to work in the United States.

Application Info

First review will occur on Dec. 14, 2026. The position will remain open until filled, but applicants who submit their materials by the first review date will receive preference.

The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.