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Richmond Criminal Justice Act Panel

General Information:

Composition of the Panel

When an attorney meets the eligibility requirements, his/her name is added to the Richmond CJA Panel List.  When a Judge approves and orders the appointment of an attorney for an indigent defendant, the Clerk’s Office makes a selection from the CJA Panel List.  At that time, a CJA Form 20 (or CJA Form 30 for capital appointments) and worksheets are prepared by the Clerk’s Office and mailed to the attorney.
Once selected, the CJA panel attorney must personally handle the case. CJA panel attorneys are not permitted to refer the case to a colleague in their law firm without prior approval of the Judge assigned to the case.

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Eligibility Requirements

CJA Panel Attorneys are required to:

• Be a member of the Virginia State Bar in good standing.
• Be admitted to practice before the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Be certified for electronic case filing (mandatory 03/01/2009).

Once appointed to the CJA Panel List, attorneys are required to:

• Attend the annual Sentencing Guidelines and Continuing Legal Education Program and/or the Frank Dunham Federal Criminal Defense Conference sponsored by the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (for more information, please contact the Federal Public Defender’s Office at (804) 343-0800).
• Promptly notify the Clerk's Office in writing with regard to change of law firm, mailing address, telephone number, or IRS reporting status. 

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Removal from the Panel

Attorneys can be removed from the panel if :

• They submit their resignation in writing.
• They retire from practicing law.
• Their bar license is suspended or revoked.

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Forms for Downloading

CJA 20, 21, 24, 30 and 31 forms are prepared and distributed by the Clerk's Office and must be obtained from the Clerk’s Office.  Instructions for completing the forms are available as set forth in the following chart (click on available formats to download instructions).

In order to view a form in PDF, you must download Adobe Acrobat Reader to your personal computer.  For more information, please visit the company's website. (Disclaimer: the Judiciary neither endorses Acrobat Reader, nor exercises any responsibility over Acrobat Reader.)

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Completing the CJA Form 20 Voucher

The CJA Form 20 must be completed and returned to the Clerk's Office for processing within 45 days of completion of all work at the District Court level.  Interim vouchers may be submitted only with prior approval from the Judge assigned to the case.

Line-by-line instructions for completing the CJA Form 20 are provided to court-appointed counsel. When applicable, sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 22 must be completed.

The CJA Form 20 will be returned to the court-appointed attorney if it is incomplete or does not include the court-appointed attorney’s original signature.

Law firm computerized billing sheets are allowed, provided the time and expense entries are listed separately and categorized in the same way as they appear on the CJA Form 20.

Please note that the CJA Form 20 is prepared by the Clerk’s Office and includes the original signature of the appointing court officer.  The court-appointed attorney should contact the Clerk’s Office if the original CJA Form 20 has been misplaced.  A copy of the CJA Form 20 will not be accepted.

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Recordkeeping Requirements

Attorneys must maintain contemporaneous time and attendance records for all work performed including:

• Work performed by associates, partners and support staff.
  
• Expense records.

Please note:

• Worksheets are provided to assist counsel and are available on the Court’s website.
• Counsel's time and attendance records are subject to audit and must be retained for three years after the final voucher for the appointment has been approved.

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Time Calculations

Time calculations must be in tenths of hours, as indicated on the following table.

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Non-Reimbursable Time

Non-Reimbursable time includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Time spent preparing the CJA Form 20 voucher.
• Meal breaks.
• Legal research in subject areas with which counsel should be familiar.
• Travel time to and from the Richmond courthouse.
   

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In-Court Payment Rates

Court-appointed counsel will be paid at the following rates for in-court time:

In-court time is defined as:

• Time counsel are actually talking with a judicial officer, whether in the courtroom, in chambers, or by telephone.
  
• Waiting for a hearing to commence.
  
• Court recesses (excluding lunch breaks, except during jury deliberations).
  
• Jury deliberations.

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Out-of-Court Payment Rates

Court-appointed counsel will be paid at the following rates for out-of-court time:

Examples of out-of-court services include:

• Interviews and conferences with counsel, client and witnesses, including during court recesses.
• Travel time, excluding travel time to and from the Richmond courthouse.
• Legal research, brief writing, and preparation of correspondence.
• Investigative and other approved work.

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Maximum Compensation per Case

Please see 18 U.S. C. Section 3006A(d)(2) for an outline of the statutory maximum compensation allowed for various types of representations.  The statutory maximum only includes in-court and out-of-court time claimed.

Effective January 1, 2010, the statutory maximums allowed at the District Court level are:

If the court-appointed attorney submits a claim where all services were performed prior to January 1, 2010, the former statutory maximum for that time period would apply.

Examples of representations falling into the category of "All Others" include:

• Petty Offenses.
• Revocation Hearings.
• Rule 40 Proceedings.
• Bond Proceedings.
• Material/Grand Jury Witness Proceedings.
• 2254/2255 Petitions.
• Pre-Indictment Consultations.
• Probation Violation Hearings.
• Supervised Release Violation Hearings.

If the amount of compensation (excluding expenses) claimed exceeds the statutory maximum, the voucher must be approved by the Judge assigned to the case, and the Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit.  Court-appointed counsel may also be required to complete a CJA Form 26.

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Prorating Claims for Compensation

There may be occasions when proration of claims is appropriate and necessary, particularly when the court-appointed attorney represents the same defendant named in more than one case.  The following guidelines apply:

• Time spent while representing a defendant named in more than one case must be prorated.  For example, if the defendant appears at one hearing for a sentencing in one case and a Supervised Release Violation in another case, the in-court time for  both hearings must be prorated.
• Case numbers must be cross-referenced on each voucher.
• Exclusive time spent on any one case can be claimed for that case only.

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Expenses

Reimbursement of expenses will be allowed for actual (not estimated) expenses. Supporting documentation, such as receipts, must be submitted for single item expenses in excess of $50.00 (e.g., telephone bills, copy charges, etc.).

Before undertaking extraordinary travel or any travel involving an overnight stay related to CJA representation, the court-appointed attorney must file a motion and receive prior approval from the Judge assigned to the case.

Court-appointed counsel will be reimbursed the following mileage rates:

Paralegal services must be claimed on a CJA Form 21.  The court-appointed attorney must seek prior approval from the Judge assigned to the case by filing a motion or submitting the CJA Form 21 after completing sections 12, 13, and 14.

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Computer-Assisted Legal Research Expenses

Computer-assisted legal research may be an allowable expense, provided the total amount approved for computer-assisted legal research does not exceed the total amount of attorney compensation that reasonably would have been approved if counsel had performed the research manually.

Any voucher including a request for reimbursement of computer-assisted legal research expense must include all of the following:

• A brief statement setting forth the issue or issues that were the subject matter of the research.
• An estimate of the number of hours of attorney time that would have been required to do the research manually.
• A copy of the bill and receipt for the use of the equipment or an explanation of the precise basis of the charge.

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Subpoenas

Court-appointed attorneys are required to file a motion for the issuance of a witness subpoena or subpoena duces tecum.  Once the motion is granted, the Clerk's Office will prepare the subpoena and forward it to the U.S. Marshals Service for process of service.

The Clerk's Office will not issue subpoenas that require witnesses to travel in excess of 100 miles, or pay for the travel expenses for a witness, unless the court-appointed attorney seeks prior approval from the Judge assigned to the case.

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Transcripts

The CJA Form 20 cannot be used to request reimbursement for the cost of transcripts. Court-appointed attorneys must either file a motion or complete a CJA Form 24.  The CJA Form 24 must be obtained from the Clerk’s Office and court-appointed counsel must complete sections 12, 13, and 15.  Please consult CJA Form 24 instructions when completing the form.

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Ex Parte Applications

Counsel is not required to serve opposing counsel with ex parte applications.  Therefore, a Certificate of Service is not required.  The ex parte application will not be placed under seal without an order entered by the Judge assigned to the case.

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Approval and Payment of Claims

Upon receipt by the Clerk's Office, complete and accurate vouchers, with appropriate worksheets and receipts, will be:

• Reviewed for accuracy and completeness, which must also include the court-appointed attorney’s original signature.
• Reviewed by the Judge assigned to the case.
• Reviewed by the Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit, if the amounts claimed exceed the statutory maximums.
• Processed and entered into the CJA payment system.
  

A copy of the processed CJA Form 20 will be mailed to the court-appointed attorney.  The check will be issued by Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C., and will include the docket number and name of the defendant.

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Public Disclosure of Compensation

Compensation and expenses paid to court-appointed attorneys are never disclosed without a court order. If an order is issued, the CJA attorney will be notified prior to the release of any  information.

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Who to Contact if You Have Questions

CJA Forms, Procedures, or Payment issues:

Lisa Garrett, Deputy Clerk                 804-916-2237
Robert L. Walker, Deputy Clerk        804-916-2232

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