This guide describes the statutes, case law, and policies applicable to federal death penalty case-management issues such as appointment of counsel, case budgeting, and jury selection, and summarizes procedures judges have used in capital cases at each stage of the proceedings. Although information in the guide is generally current to the revision date that follows the title, some portions may become dated as case law develops and new approaches emerge to managing federal death penalty cases.

This is the first part of a two-volume resource guide for managing capital cases in the federal courts. For the second volume, see Resource Guide for Managing Capital Cases, Volume II: Habeas Corpus Review of Capital Convictions.