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Grants to strengthen Rule of Law and Criminal Defense Services in Georgia

Deadline: 13-Dec-2024

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project for both the Georgia Bar Association (GBA) and Legal Aid Services (LAS) to provide advocacy, training, and on-going professional development for defense attorneys.

With acquired skills provided from the applicant, the GBA and LAS will provide direct training to defense attorneys to develop their skills and increase their knowledge to better serve their clients in criminal cases. Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms requires effective access to legal services by an independent and fully functioning legal profession that provides due process without fear of harassment or intimidation. 

Goals and Objectives
  • Goal 1: LAS and GBA refine their ability to manage human and case management resources for their clients.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA increase capacity of the existing electronic case management systems (ECMS) and in case of need create a new system.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA increase analysis of ECMS data.
    • Objective: LAS develops a framework to enable LAS to hire and effectively utilize criminal investigators to support and increase effective representation of criminal defendants.
    • Objective: LAS improves framework to enable LAS to hire and effectively utilize roster lawyers to support and increase effective representation of criminal defendants. Roster lawyers are private lawyers serving on a temporary basis as public defenders.
    • Objective: LAS develops the human resource and technical capacity of the East and West Bureaus, which specialize in complex cases.
  • Goal 2: LAS and GBA will advocate for the right of defense to lawyers to practice their profession without being subject to harassment and to be able to adequately defend their clients without undue or improper interference.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA have standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to best report and combat harassment and intimidation.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA can better address attorneys’ complaints of harassment.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA implement SOPs and see declines in defense attorney intimidation and harassment.
  • Goal 3: LAS and GBA defense attorneys provide criminal defense representation that complies with Georgia laws and statutes and internationally recognized standards (including American, UN, and EU standards, such a right to be informed of the charges against the defendant, right to an appointed lawyer if a defendant is indigent, the right to not testify against oneself, etc.).
    • Objective: LAS and GBA improve a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program structure that enables and supports the development of criminal defense attorneys in the target areas of jury trial skills, domestic violence, juvenile justice, complex crimes including cybercrime, and ethics.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA develop and implement continuing legal education courses for criminal defense counsel that include jury trial skills, domestic violence, juvenile justice, complex crimes including cybercrime, and ethics.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA defense attorneys are qualified as instructors in jury trial skills and those that completed ToT trainings conduct LAS and/or GBA CLE training in jury trial skills.
    • Objective: LAS and GBA criminal defense attorneys increase their knowledge of the domestic violence, juvenile justice, complex crimes including cybercrime, and ethics, with focus including the Criminal Procedure Code, Criminal Code, Juvenile Justice Law, and Domestic Violence Law.
  • Goal 4: GBA and LAS will promote raising awareness about the benefits of the jury trial system in the broader population through various promotional activities.
  • Goal 5: Defense Counsel observe standards of ethics and civility in the courtroom to promote professionalism and the authenticity of an open and honest judicial process.
Funding Information
  • Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $1,500,000 to a maximum of $2,000,000
  • Total available funding: $2,000,000
Duration
  • The initial project implementation length is 24 months.
Eligibility Criteria
  • Applicant
    • The following organizations are eligible to apply:
    • U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
    • U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code or section 26 US 115 of the U.S. tax code;
    • Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
    • Foreign-based educational institutions
  • Applicants must also meet the following requirements to be eligible to apply to this NOFO:
    • Applicants must demonstrate experience implementing similar defense attorney capacity building programs, preferably in post-Soviet countries. The Embassy reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering similar programs and/or federal awards.
    • Applicants must have the ability to establish a full-time in-country presence with at least one U.S. licensed attorney who possesses a minimum of fifteen years legal experience that includes at least five years criminal defense.
    • Applicants must have the ability to produce course materials, deliver training, and conduct evaluations in Georgian and English.
    • Applicants must provide interpretation services as needed. The applicant’s staff should be proficient in English to fulfill reporting requirements.
    • Applicants must have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with stakeholders to successfully carry out the proposed program.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.