§ 63-D — Attorney-general; death penalty prosecutions

§ 63-d. Attorney-general; death penalty prosecutions. 1. The\nattorney-general shall, whenever required by the governor or his\ndesignee after a request of the governor by a district attorney, direct\nthat the resources and personnel of the department of law be used to\nprovide assistance relating to the prosecution or appeal of any case\nwhere the defendant may be subject to the penalty of death. Such\nassistance shall include the use of any department resource or services,\nwhich the attorney-general deems proper, and may be performed or\nprovided by the attorney-general or any employee of the department of\nlaw. Assistance pursuant to this section may only be provided with\nrespect to proceedings where:\n (i) the defendant is represented by counsel appointed pursuant to the\nprovisions of section thirty-five-b of the judiciary law or the\ndefendant is receiving expert, investigative or other services pursuant\nto such section, or\n (ii) the defendant, through counsel retained privately by the\ndefendant through his or her own means or through the means of a person\nother than the defendant, or through representation by pro bono counsel,\nis able to marshal substantially greater legal and investigatory\nresources than those reasonably available to the district attorney.\n 2. A request of the governor made by a district attorney for\nassistance in a death penalty case shall be accompanied by a certificate\nof need stating that as a result of cases where the defendant may be\nsubject to the penalty of death additional resources or personnel are\nneeded to supplement the district attorney's staff and available\nresources in order to fulfill such district attorney's responsibilities.\n