The Georgia Capital Defender was created as a result of the cooperation between the Georgia General Assembly and the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia Capital Defender Office serves as a trial resource center for attorneys handling death penalty cases. The Office is available in every capitally charged felony case to serve as a resource and to provide consultation to locally appointed counsel. The Office provides assistance in death penalty cases by: (1) providing training and assistance to attorneys who have been appointed to defend defendants charged with a capital offense; (2) serving as co-counsel to assist local appointed lead counsel in the trial and direct appeal of cases involving defendants facing the death penalty; (3) accepting appointments to provide direct representation as lead counsel in death penalty cases based upon the circumstances of each individual case.