Home < Attorneys/Committees < Cja-panel < VI. Private Attorneys

1. CJA Panel
   1. Establishment of CJA Panel. The existing, previously established Panel of attorneys who are eligible and willing to be appointed to provide representation under the CJA is recognized.
   2. Ratio of Appointments. Private attorneys from the CJA Panel shall be appointed in a substantial proportion of the cases in which the accused is determined to be financially eligible for representation under the CJA.
   3. Composition of CJA Panel.
      1. Approval. The court shall establish a panel of private attorneys who are eligible and willing to be appointed to provide representation under the Criminal Justice Act. The court shall approve attorneys for membership on the CJA Panel after receiving recommendations from the Panel Selection Committee (Committee), established pursuant to Section VI.B. of this Plan. Members of the CJA Panel shall serve at the pleasure of the court.
      2. Size. The court shall not fix a numerical limit on the size of the CJA Panel. Certain education programs are a prerequisite for continuing membership. The size will be determined by the activity of the membership. In its annual review, the Committee will analyze the size of the CJA Panel to be sure it is large enough to provide a sufficient number of experienced attorneys to handle the CJA caseload, yet small enough so that CJA Panel members will receive an adequate number of appointments to maintain their proficiency in federal criminal defense work, and thereby provide a high quality of representation.
      3. Eligibility. Attorneys who serve on the CJA Panel must be members in good standing of the federal bar of this district and have demonstrated experience in, and knowledge of, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Local Rules of this court, and the Sentencing Guidelines.

         In addition, the attorney must:

         1. in the twelve months prior to the date of application, attend (in person or by video) training or continuing legal education programs on federal criminal defense as follows:

            (1) persons either having served on the complex/major crimes panel (or the equivalent in another district) in the immediate past 3 years or having represented 6 criminal defendants in this district during this same time period must either attend all CJA training programs presented by the Federal Defender and/or Panel Selection Committee during that twelve month period or complete the minimum six hours set forth in subparagraph (2) below:

            (2) all other persons must attend a minimum of six hours of such training or continuing legal education programs, at least three hours of which shall be devoted to federal sentencing; said training programs to qualify subject to the approval of the Panel Selection Committee;

         2. have professional liability insurance in the minimum amount of $100,000/$300,000; and
         3. demonstrate a commitment to provide high quality representation to those individuals eligible for their services.

         Satisfaction of these minimum eligibility requirements does not assure that an applicant will be selected to serve on the CJA Panel.

         Subsection (b) of the CJA provides, in part, that:

         Counsel furnishing representation under the plan shall be selected from a panel of attorneys designated or approved by the court, or from a bar association, legal aid agency, or defender organization furnishing representation pursuant to the plan.

         However, when the magistrate judge or the district judge presiding over the case, determines that the appointment of an attorney, who is not a member of the CJA Panel, is in the interest of justice, judicial economy or continuity of representation, or there is some other compelling circumstance warranting the appointment, the attorney may be admitted to the CJA Panel pro hac vice and appointed to represent the CJA defendant. Consideration for preserving the integrity of the CJA Panel selection process suggests that such appointments should be made only in exceptional circumstances. Further, the attorney, who may or may not maintain an office in the district, should possess those qualifications that would be required for admission to the district's CJA Panel in the ordinary course of Panel selection.

      4. Equal Opportunity. All qualified attorneys shall be encouraged to participate in the furnishing of representation in CJA cases, without regard to race/ethnicity, gender, age, or disability.
      5. Terms. Members shall serve two year terms, which shall commence on February 1 and run for two years thereafter. Members seeking readmission shall apply on or before December 31 of the year prior to the expiration of their membership term. Members who fail to reapply by December 31 shall be deemed to have resigned from the CJA Panel, but may apply for new membership at any subsequent time.
      6. Subpanel Designations. Members of the CJA Panel shall be designated for placement on one of the following subpanels:
         1. General. Attorneys holding this designation would be appointed to misdemeanors, probation revocation and supervised release proceedings, trial witnesses (only if potential witness does not have prior or pending criminal case), and offenses which do not carry a potential sentence of greater than five (5) years.
         2. Complex. Attorneys holding this designation would be eligible to be appointed on all levels of offenses except those designated as major crimes.
         3. Major Crimes. Attorneys holding this designation would be eligible to be appointed on all levels of offenses, up to and including those designated as major on a list to be maintained by the clerk's office and updated, as necessary, by the Panel Selection Committee.
         4. First Response Attorneys holding this designation would be eligible to be appointed to represent a defendant for the initial appearance only, on request of a member of the Complex or Major Crimes subpanel, in accordance with the internal procedures for such appointments maintained in the clerk's office and updated, as necessary, by the Panel Selection Committee.

         The Committee will recommend to the court which attorneys should serve on the General, Complex, Major Crimes or First Response subpanels. As part of the December readmission process, a member may request a change in subpanel designation.

      7. Application. Application forms for membership on the CJA Panel shall be made available, upon request, by the clerk of court. Completed applications, along with a statement of qualifications and experience, and supporting material, shall be submitted to the clerk of court who will transmit the material to the Chair of the Panel Selection Committee.

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2. Panel Selection Committee.
   1. Membership. The court shall establish a Panel Selection Committee consisting of three CJA Panel attorneys who agree to serve without compensation and the Federal Defender, or designee, who shall serve ex officio. A district judge, the magistrate judge, and the clerk of court, or the clerk's designee, shall be liaisons with the Committee.

      Membership on the Committee shall be voted upon by the membership at the annual meeting to be held in October or November of each year. Membership shall be for a three-year term. If any Committee member resigns from the Committee, the position shall be filled for the remainder of the term by a person designated by the other two Committee members.

      Any CJA Panel attorney is eligible for the Committee.

   2. Duties.
      1. The Committee shall be responsible for:
         1. annually evaluating applications for reappointment or change in subpanel designation and at least quarterly evaluating new applications for appointment, and for making recommendations to the court to ensure that applicants meet the criteria for inclusion in the CJA Panel;
         2. making recommendations to the court regarding panel membership after consideration of each applicant's qualifications, which shall include, but is not limited to, whether the applicant satisfies the minimum eligibility requirements under VI.A.3.c of this Plan and has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Committee that the applicant will provide the highest level of representation to those eligible for court appointed counsel;
         3. determining which CJA Panel members should be placed on the General, Complex, Major Crimes or First Response subpanels;
         4. working with the Federal Defender to provide training programs for the CJA Panel attorneys and other members of the criminal defense bar;
         5. generally representing the interests of the CJA program in the district;
         6. determining those training programs that qualify under VI.A.3.c. of this Plan; and
         7. receiving, reviewing, and making recommendations to the court concerning any comments or concerns regarding
            1. the performance of CJA Panel attorneys;
            2. the fairness or functioning of the CJA Panel appointment process; and
            3. the processing the CJA Panel payment vouchers.
      2. If, at any time during the course of a year, the number of vacancies due to resignation, removal, or death significantly decreases the size of the CJA Panel, the Committee shall solicit applications for the vacancies, convene a special meeting to review the qualifications of the applicants, and select prospective members for recommendation to the court for approval.
      3. When the Committee submits the names of applicants for CJA Panel membership to the court for approval at the beginning of the new panel year, the Committee shall furnish information to the court regarding recruitment efforts undertaken by the Committee in furtherance of the Equal Opportunity statement in Section VI.A.3.d. of this Plan. At the same time, the Committee shall provide the court with information on the CJA Panel of attorneys in each of the categories listed in Section VI.A.3.d.

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3. Selection for Appointment.
   1. Maintenance of CJA Panel and Distribution of Appointments.

      The clerk of the court shall maintain an automated program which contains pertinent data for all attorneys included on the CJA Panel, with current office addresses and telephone numbers, and indication of their placement on either the General, Complex, Major Crimes, or First Response subpanels. The application and supporting material, noted by the Committee with the appropriate subpanel, shall be maintained in a separate file. The clerk shall also maintain a record of assignments to private counsel, and, when appropriate, statistical data reflecting the proration of appointments between attorneys from the Federal Defender office and private attorneys.

   2. Method of Selection.

      Counsel appointed from the list of private attorneys shall be selected by rotation, except when an attorney is not available by reason of another commitment, or, in the judgment of the court, the selection of other counsel is desirable because the nature and complexity of the case requires the appointment of more experienced counsel. This procedure should result in a balanced distribution of appointments and compensation among the members of the CJA Panel and quality representation for each CJA defendant.

      A defendant shall not have the right to the appointment of any particular counsel but may state any objection to counsel whose appointment is under consideration.

      Upon the determination of a need for the appointment of counsel, the judge or magistrate judge shall notify the clerk of court.

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