CVA Consulting Services specializes in conducting psychosocial investigations
in death penalty and other criminal cases in the United States. While
many of these investigations are conducted for use at the penalty phase
of a capital trial, CVA has been utilizing this same approach for doing
in depth psychosocial investigations to be used for pre-authorization
submissions in federal death penalty cases, as well as to be utilized
in pre-sentencing and pre-pleading reports. In the hundreds of psychosocial
investigations that CVA have conducted, we maintain a more than 90% success
rate. Wherein our clients have either been spared the death penalty or
received sentences significantly less than what the prosecution requested.
CVA
offers client-based assistance to attorneys defending capital cases.
In applying well developed interviewing techniques and clinical skills,
CVA Consulting conducts social history investigations and assessments
which are then used to formulate a psychosocial profile of the defendant.
With the keen sensitivity required to interact with clients and families
who have been exposed to severe trauma, CVA is able to engage the
client system empathetically and thus obtain information crucial to
the mitigation phase of the trial. (TOP)
CVA
assists the court in arriving at a sentence by presenting a written
profile of the defendant, his/her social system, and the facts surrounding
the case. An in-depth psychosocial investigation of the defendant
is conducted and CVA secures such information so as to prepare a custom
tailored sentence; one that will satisfy the goals of sentencing as
well as protect the rights and concerns of the community. (TOP)
CVA
is sensitive to issues related to the Battered Women Syndrome. We
are able to arrive at an assessment based on the personal history
of the client and that of the battering relationship (TOP)
CVA
will examine mitigating factors and the circumstances of the offense
in order to present alternatives to incarceration. While incarceration
may be unavoidable in many cases, CVA recognizes those instances where
alternative sentencing may be applicable, and will work with the client
and interact with social service agencies to facilitate this. (TOP)
CVA
assists counsel with downward departure cases. We are able to present
mitigating factors to support counsel’s argument for a downward
departure. In almost all instances, the thoroughly researched report
submitted has been successfully used to obtain a downward departure.
(TOP)
CVA
assists attorneys to obtain youthful offender status for juveniles
charged as adults. Utilizing our approach in conducting a thorough
social history of the client, we are able to present factors that
can assist the court in arriving at a disposition that punish youthful
offenders but also facilitate meaningful rehabilitation.
CVA office staff based in New York search computerized data bases
and other document repositories for records, request and gather documents,
research and construct timelines, and provide other support services,
while mitigation specialists in the field track down witnesses. Even
in jurisdictions far from its home base, CVA is tenacious in identifying,
locating and interviewing witnesses.
Moreover, because some of our clients over the years have come
from other nations, and still have family members, friends and social
history records in these distant lands, many of our capital mitigation
investigations have necessitated travel to foreign nations. Conducting
an accurate and thorough mitigation inquiry in the United States
itself is challenging enough, let along in these culturally and
socially diverse jurisdictions. Still, in recent years, we have
conducted social history investigations in Jamaica, Dominican Republic,
Guyana, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Nevis and Trinidad. In each instance,
we have dealt with local populations and civil servants to build
a network of assistance that has successfully served our clients.
The mitigation specialists at CVA are fluent in English and Spanish.
CVA has also worked and built up constructive relationships with
a wide range of other “experts” and defense team investigators
and specialists, like jury consultants, forensic psychologist, neuropsychologists,
private investigators, and other integral experts. These established
relationships prove to be essential, in some cases, and provide
the defense team with added resources if required. CVA thus is a
“full service” agency that offers a range of services.
(TOP)
CVA
offers client-based assistance to attorneys defending capital cases.
In applying well developed interviewing techniques and clinical skills,
CVA Consulting conducts social history investigations and assessments
which are then used to formulate a psychosocial profile of the defendant.
With the keen sensitivity required to interact with clients and families
who have been exposed to severe trauma, CVA is able to engage the
client system empathetically and thus obtain information crucial to
the mitigation phase of the trial. 
CVA
will examine mitigating factors and the circumstances of the offense
in order to present alternatives to incarceration. While incarceration
may be unavoidable in many cases, CVA recognizes those instances where
alternative sentencing may be applicable, and will work with the client
and interact with social service agencies to facilitate this.