Certification Process for State Capital Counsel Systems

What it does

Chapter 154 of title 28, United States Code, provides special procedures for federal habeas corpus review of cases brought by prisoners in state custody who are under a sentence of death. The special procedures are available to States that the Attorney General has certified as having established mechanisms for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in state postconviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners, and as providing standards of competency for the appointment of counsel in these proceedings. This rule would remove impediments to certification that chapter 154 does not authorize and would enable more prompt decisions on States' requests for certification.

The Justice Department's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What it would change

1 part of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

28 CFR 26

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1105-AB80 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

Written and electronic comments must be sent or submitted on or before May 15, 2026. Comments received by mail will be considered timely if they are postmarked on or before the last day of the comment period. The electronic Federal Docket Management System will accept electronic comments until midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Reginfo.gov lists a rule with this regulation identifier as under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs since Sept. 28, 2026 (stage: Final Rule). See it

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket DOJ-OAG-2026-0034 on Regulations.gov
• Title 28 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register