Confidentiality and Use Agreement

The American Bar Association (“ABA”) created the Capital Clemency Resource Initiative Clearinghouse (“Clearinghouse”) for use by lawyers and the public. The Clearinghouse is divided into an area that is accessible to the public “Public Area” and an area that is for capital clemency practitioners only “Secured Area.”  The Secured Area was created for the benefit of and exclusive use by capital clemency defense practitioners. By accessing the Clearinghouse, you represent that you will abide by the terms of this Agreement as stated below. Further, by accessing the Secured Area of the Clearinghouse, you represent that you currently meet the criteria stated below in Part II.a and will keep any materials obtained from the Secured Area confidential as described below in Part II.b.

I. Areas of the Website
The Secured Area of the Clearinghouse can only be accessed by entering an approved username and password that has been granted appropriate permissions by the ABA Capital Clemency Resource Initiative (“ABA CCRI”). Permissions are granted at the sole discretion of ABA CCRI staff and may be altered or withdrawn at any time without prior notice. If you attempt to access the Secured Area without logging in or without appropriate permissions on your account, you will see a message indicating that you do not have permission to view the page. The Public Area is visible to visitors whether or not they are logged in to the Clearinghouse. A logged in user with permissions to access the Secured Area will be able to see both the Public Area and Secured Areas of the Clearinghouse without any visible distinction on the webpage. Every effort has been made to mark documents in the Secured Area as confidential, but it is the user’s responsibility to determine if a document or information was obtained from the Secured Area or Public Area and comply with the applicable terms as stated below.

II. Terms applicable to access and use of the Secured Area

a. Authorized Users and Access
Access to the Secured Area and use of the materials contained therein is restricted exclusively to persons who have been approved by the ABA CCRI because they are persons representing or contemplating representing death-sentenced prisoners in clemency proceedings (“Authorized Users”).You agree to not share your username and password with anyone, including other members of your office or defense team.  In order to maintain the security of the Clearinghouse, each individual must register separately.

b. Confidentiality and Use of Materials
By accessing the Secured Area of the Clearinghouse, you agree to keep all materials that are accessed through the Secured Area confidential.  You agree not to disseminate or otherwise provide any material obtained from the Secured Area to any person not currently an Authorized User as defined under this Agreement. Prohibited dissemination includes, but is not limited to, publishing or posting content to other websites or any listserves. Any non-confidential use must be authorized in writing and in advance by either the author of the document or the ABA CCRI. You may use the Clearinghouse and the materials you obtain from it only in connection with capital defense work.  Use for any other purpose, including training seminars, must be approved in advance in writing by the ABA CCRI. You must cease use of the Clearinghouse, destroy any materials you have already obtained from this website, and immediately notify the ABA CCRI at  you cease work as a capital defender.  Former capital defenders who are no longer working on capital cases are not authorized to access the Secured Area of the Clearinghouse.

III. Terms applicable to access and use of all areas (Public Area and Secured Area)

a. Removal of Materials
This Clearinghouse contains resources and materials developed by the ABA CCRI as well as other organizations/individuals. If the author of any materials in the Clearinghouse no longer wants his or her work on the Clearinghouse, that author should send a message to , and the administrators will remove the author’s materials from the Clearinghouse immediately.

b. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Clearinghouse is provided to you on an as-is and as-available basis. You agree that your use of the Clearinghouse is at your sole risk. You understand and agree that the ABA makes no warranty or representation regarding the accuracy, currency, completeness, reliability, or usefulness of the Clearinghouse content; that the content will meet your requirements; that access to the Clearinghouse will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free; or that defects, if any, will be corrected. We make no warranty of any kind, either express or implied.

c. No Attorney-Client Relationship
Use of these materials in no way creates an attorney client relationship between any users and the employees of the ABA, attorneys and organizations contributing to the Clearinghouse, or authors of materials found in the Clearinghouse. The materials offered in the Clearinghouse do not constitute legal advice, legal services, or practice of law in any state or federal jurisdiction. Use of the information located on this site is not intended as a substitute for legal advice or representation by qualified counsel. The material found on this site should not be used by persons acting without legal counsel.

d. Adherence to Privacy Policy
You acknowledge that you have read and understood the ABA Privacy Policy, which applies to all ABA websites, and agree that the ABA may collect, use, and distribute information pursuant to that policy.

e. Adherence to Copyright Policy
You acknowledge that you have read and understood the following Copyright Policy:

Copyright Policy
It is the ABA’s policy to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement. The ABA CCRI may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, remove certain content or disable access to content claimed to infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that a copyright has been violated by material available through the Clearinghouse, please provide the ABA CCRI with the following information:

  • Identification of the copyrighted work subject to alleged infringing activity
  • An exact description of where the material is located within the Clearinghouse
  • Your address, telephone number, and email address
  • A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
  • A statement by you that the above information in your notice is accurate
  • Your electronic or physical signature

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Clearinghouse administrator at . Should you need to provide any of the information listed above, please do so in writing.

f. Revocation of Access
Failure to abide by any of these terms will result in the immediate revocation of your access to the Secured Area and other actions as may be deemed necessary to ensure the continuing confidentiality of materials and security of the Clearinghouse.  The ABA CCRI reserves the right to revoke any user’s access for any reason without advance warning.  Concerns about misuse of any materials on this website or unauthorized access should be directed to .

IV. Standard ABA Terms
All users of this site must agree to comply with the standard terms of use that apply to all American Bar Association websites in addition to any specific terms listed here.  You can review those terms via the following links:

Questions or Concerns

Any questions about these terms or use of the Clearinghouse should be directed to the Site Manager at .