Description:
About the Position:The Capital Litigation Law Clerk provides legal assistance to all Superior Court judges throughout the State of Arizona at all stages of capital cases, including pretrial, jury trial, and post-conviction. The Capital Litigation Law Clerk conducts legal research, drafts documents, and provides general assistance in capital cases.
Position Qualification
We recognize your time is valuable, so please apply if you meet the following required qualifications:
Education:
Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited and ABA-approved law school
Experience:
Two (2) years of work experience as a law clerk to a judge
OR
Combined Education and Experience Qualifications:
Three (3) years of experience in criminal trial or appellate litigation within the Arizona court system may substitute for the required work experience
Other Requirements:
Admitted to practice law and be in good standing with the State Bar of Arizona at the time of application.
Our preferred candidate has:
Experience in capital litigation at the trial court or appellate level
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Knowledge of:
- Legal research methods and techniques
- Court procedures and operations
- State laws, rules and regulations
Skill in:
Effective verbal and written communication
Ability to:
- Interpret, analyze, and evaluate legal information and draw conclusions.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
Essential Job Tasks:
(This is not an all-inclusive list of all job duties that may be required; employees will be required to perform other related duties as assigned.)
- Assists Superior Court judicial officers throughout the State of Arizona at all stages of capital cases with case-specific legal research and document drafting as requested by the judicial officers.
- Continuously updates the Arizona Supreme Court's Capital Sentencing Guide on the Supreme Court website, including compiling capital Arizona judicial decisions by categories for easy reference by judges, as well as updating the legal criteria for each aggravating and mitigating circumstance.
- Updates judges throughout the State regarding changes to capital statutes, rules, and case law.
- Develops and delivers training to judges and court staff at New Judge Orientation, the annual Judicial Conference, and other court training programs on issues that arise in capital litigation.
- Maintains and updates a databank of collected rulings, jury instructions, and jury questionnaires to be shared with trial judges in capital cases.
- Reviews every order issued by the Supreme Court in capital cases to ensure prompt compliance with orders directed to the trial courts.
