CJA Information Center - Overview
INTRODUCTION
Title 18 U.S.C. § 3006A of the Guide to Judiciary Policies
& Procedures requires every United States District Court, with
the approval of the judicial council of the circuit, to implement a plan
for providing adequate representation to any individual who is
financially incapable of retaining counsel. This includes any
individual who:
a. is charged
with a felony or with a Class A misdemeanor;
b. is a
juvenile alleged to have committed an act of juvenile delinquency as
defined in section 5031 of this title;
c. is charged
with a violation of probation;
d. is under
arrest, when such representation is required by law;
e. is charged
with a violation of supervised release or faces modification, reduction
or enlargement of a condition, or extension or revocation of a term of
supervised release;
f. is subject
to a mental condition hearing under Chapter 313 of this title;
g. is in
custody as a material witness;
h. is entitled
to appointment of counsel under the sixth amendment to the
constitution;
i. faces loss
of liberty in a case, and Federal law requires the appointment of
counsel;
j. is entitled
to the appointment of counsel under Section 4109 of this title.
If a U.S. Magistrate Judge
determines that the interests of justice so require, representation may
be provided to an individual financially eligible if the person is
charged with a Class B or C misdemeanor or an infraction for which an
individual faces confinement or is seeking relief under 28 U.S.C.
§§ 2241, 2254 or 2255.
APPLICATION FOR CJA
PANEL
PURPOSE OF CJA PANEL
To improve
overall quality of representation for indigents in this court, the
Judges have established a Criminal Justice Act Panel Committee whose
duties shall be to screen application by attorneys for appointments to a
rotating panel available for appointment under the CJA Act. Such
appointments would be made after qualifications and experience of the
applicants are thoroughly reviewed and evaluated by the Committee.
HOW TO
APPLY
Complete and submit an
application
for membership to the Criminal Justice Act Panel. The membership review process can take from six to eight weeks. Please
contact the Federal Public Defender for further information on becoming
a member (505) 346-2489.
RESPONSIBILITIES
ATTORNEY'S RESPONSIBILITY
In addition to
the responsibility of adequately representing an individual in court, a
CJA Panel Attorney must maintain complete and accurate records with
respect to time spent in court, time spent out of court, copy/fax logs,
travel, travel expenses, mileage and other expenses which may arise and
are allowed as reimbursable items under the CJA Act. The aforementioned
items must be documented on worksheets and attached to a voucher for
payment. The voucher must provide the judicial officer with a
description of the work done to enable the judicial officer to
determine the reasonableness of the CJA voucher. Failure to comply
with this may result in a delay of payment to counsel or any service
provider.
CJA
DIVISION'S RESPONSIBILITY
The
responsibility of the Clerk's Office CJA Division is to perform an
objective audit of all vouchers being submitted for payment. The CJA
Division will check for proper billing rates, mathematical errors,
eligibility for reimbursement and compliance with guidelines with regard
to statutory limits, etc.
JUDGE'S RESPONSIBILITY
The
responsibility of the Judicial Officer is to authorize payment of
vouchers for fees that are reasonable and neccessary using his or her
discretion. The Judicial Officer will also forward any vouchers
exceeding the statutory limits to the Circuit Court of Appeals for
approval.