The History of AGACL

The 29th conference of the AGACL is an outgrowth of an informal meeting held in Austin, Texas, in the early spring of 1979. At that time, representatives from fifteen states discussed a variety of issues that were being raised by the defense bar in opposition to the imposition of the death penalty. The various states determined that further prosecution cooperation was urgently needed. In July 1979, a second, more formal meeting was again held in Austin, Texas. This meeting was sponsored by the Texas Attorney General with the assistance of the Florida Attorney General. At the conclusion of the second meeting, the states agreed to have an annual conference where government attorneys at all levels could receive professional instruction and share ideas.

Utah volunteered to host the first national conference. At the conclusion of the Salt Lake Conference in January 1980, it was unanimously agreed by the participants that a permanent association of government lawyers in this specialized field should be established independent of other national organizations to ensure continuity of the project. The name selected for the organization was the "Association of Government Attorneys in Capital Litigation."

AGACL is now an active, full-time non-profit Association with a membership of over three hundred government agencies and officers. Membership dues are $100 per agency. If you are interested in becoming an active participant in this Association, please contact any member of the Executive Committee or write: Mr. Kent E. Cattani, Secretary-Treasurer, AGACL, PMB-102, 122 North 2nd Street, Suite A, Phoenix, Arizona 85004-2304, (623) 979-4846.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

President Ward A. Campbell, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice, Sacramento, California, 916-324-5251; Vice-President Edward L. Marshall, Deputy Chief, Post-Conviction Litigation Division, Texas Attorney General's Office, Austin, Texas, 512-936-1600; Secretary-Treasurer Kent E. Cattani, Chief Counsel, Capital Litigation Section, Arizona Attorney General's Office, Phoenix, Arizona, 602-542-8589.

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENTS

Region I. (9th and 10th Circuits): Rick A. Unklesbay, Chief Trial Counsel, Pima County Attorney's Office, Tucson, Arizona, 520-740-5704; Region II. (7th and 8th Circuits): Bernard J. Murray, Chief, Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Chicago, Illinois, 773-869-2723; Region III. (11th Circuit): Carolyn M. Snurkowski, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Appeals, Department of Legal Affairs, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 850-414-3300; Region IV. (4th and 6th Circuits): Donald J. Zelenka, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Chief, Capital Crimes Unit, Columbia, South Carolina, 803-734-6305; Region V. (1st, 2nd, 3rd & D.C. Circuit): Gary Fidel, Executive Assistant District Attorney, Queens District Attorney's Office, Kew Gardens, NY 11415, 718-286-5843; Region VI. (5th Circuit): Gena Bunn, Assistant Attorney General, Texas Attorney General's Office, Austin, Texas, 512-936-1600.

DIRECTORS AT LARGE

Katherine P. Baldwin, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Virginia Attorney General's Office, Richmond, Virginia, 804-786-9642; Joseph E. Birkett, State's Attorney, Du Page County States Attorney, Wheaton, Illinois, 630-682-7050; Susan Boleyn, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Law Department, Atlanta, Georgia, 404-656-3397; J. Kirk Brown, Solicitor General, Nebraska Attorney General's Office, Lincoln, Nebraska; 402-471-2682 Ronald Eisenberg, Deputy District Attorney, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 215-686-5700; Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, San Francisco, California, 415-703-5866 Margaret Griffey, Chief, Capital Case Unit, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 202-353-9723; Thomas B. Thurman, Deputy District Attorney General, Office of the District Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, 615-862-5500 x134; Marvin L. 'Sonny' White, Assistant Attorney General, Jackson, Mississippi, 601-359-3680;

EX OFFICIO PAST PRESIDENTS

Kevin W. Lyons, Peoria County State's Attorney, Peoria, Illinois, 309-672-6900; Stephen Schumaker, Prosecuting Attorney, Clark County Prosecutor's Office, Springfield, Ohio, 937-328-2574;

EX OFFICIO MEMBER

Candace M. Mosley, Director of Programs, National District Attorneys Association, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 803-705-5092.

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS

Anita Ashton, Attorney at Law, Austin, Texas, 512-454-3818; Samuel W. Cooper, Deputy County Attorney, Omaha, Nebraska, 402-393-0283; James L. Dickinson, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet, Office of Administrative Hearings, Frankfort, Kentucky, 502-564-5576; Earl F. Dorius, Legal Counsel, Utah Department, Alcohol Beverage Control, Salt Lake City, Utah, 801-538-1019; Joan Herre Erwin, New Hill, North Carolina, 919-387-7882; Victra L. Fewell, Deputy Attorney General of Corrections and Office of Public Safety Division, Little Rock, Arkansas, 501-682-3644; Michael Ficaro, Special Assistant Attorney General, Hopkins & Sutter, Attorneys at Law, Chicago, Illinois, 312-558-6591; Honorable William J. Schafer III, Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Copyright 2001-2008 Association of Government Attorneys in Capital Litigation (AGACL)

Email: agacl@msn.com
Copyright 2001-2008 AGACL
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