Law Office of Letty S. Di Giulio, LLC

EXPERIENCE

Letty S. Di Giulio specializes in serious felony direct appeals, state post-conviction relief applications, and federal habeas corpus petitions.  

Letty began her legal career over 20 years ago in Chicago where she represented both felony criminal defendants on appeal and capital post-conviction petitioners on behalf of the Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD) of Illinois.  Returning to her home state of Louisiana in 2004, she then focused exclusively on capital appeals and post-conviction, representing indigent defendants under sentence of death on behalf of the Capital Appeals Project (CAP) and The Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana (CPCPL).  She has won reversals on behalf of her capital and non-capital clients in both Illinois and Louisiana. 

Now in private practice, Letty continues to devote a significant portion of her practice to the representation of indigent capital defendants on direct appeal, state post-conviction, and in federal habeas, but she also accepts a select number of serious felony cases in these three forums each year. By limiting the number of cases she handles at once, Letty is able to provide the most attentive and individualized representation to each of her clients.   

Letty frequently acts as resource counsel to attorneys around the state who are dealing with complex legal issues or constitutional challenges. For more than a decade, she served as Co-chair of the Amicus Committee of the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (LACDL), which regularly files briefs in the state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court, supporting cases of legal and professional significance to defense counsel and the clients they serve. She continues to be an active member of the Committee.

APPELLATE COUNSEL

Appellate work requires a very different set of skills from trial work, and most people obtain new counsel for direct appeal following their convictions. Appellate counsel must have a firm grasp on the procedural complexities of the entire post-conviction review and federal habeas process in order to avoid losing important rights forever. Having new counsel on direct appeal also allows the case to be reviewed with a fresh set of eyes, providing an opportunity to have every detail from the trial examined by someone who understands what legal claims are most significant to the appellate courts and who looks for creative ways to solve difficult problems.