Washington — Just over a year ago, federal judges, defenders and a group of lawyers who represent criminal indigent defendants gathered at the U.S. courthouse in Baltimore to hear federal Judge Myron Thompson give an address.
Thompson, who sits on the district court in Alabama, and the others were there to commemorate the 60th anniversary of passage of the Criminal Justice Act, which ensures defendants who are financially unable to obtain adequate representation in federal criminal cases are provided counsel.
Signed into law on Aug. 20, 2024, the Criminal Justice Act, or CJA, allows for the appointment of private lawyers to represent criminal defendants when a federal defender cannot, and authorizes compensation from funds approved by Congress.
Thompson, who has been on the federal bench for more than 40 years, was one of the first of these lawyers — known as CJA panel attorneys — appointed under the law within 10 years of its enactment, and he recalled being summoned for a meeting with then-Judge Frank Johnson shortly after starting a one-man practice in 1974. During that meeting, Johnson appointed Thompson to represent a defendant, with the trial set to begin the following morning.
“I have had a front row seat to the implementation and evolution of the act,” he told those assembled, heralding the CJA as “one of the most important pieces of legislation passed by Congress.”
Now, less than one year later, the program that pays these court-appointed private attorneys is facing a financial crisis, since it ran out of money in early July because of a funding shortfall. As a result, lawyers who are tapped by district courts to represent criminal indigent defendants are not being paid, and won’t be until Congress appropriates more money. Lawmakers are facing a Sept. 30 deadline to pass legislation to keep the government funded.
“It’s not just inconvenient,” Andy Birrell, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told CBS News. “It threatens to cripple the ability to provide effective public defense, lead to back-ups, attorney shortages and a denial of due process and fair outcomes at a time when the federal government is, it seems to me, increasing prosecutions. It’s going to create a justice gap that ultimately harms all of us.”
Aided by the CJA, the federal defender system today includes more than 12,000 private lawyers and federal defender organizations. There are CJA panels for all of the country’s 94 judicial districts, and most of these lawyers work for small firms or are solo practitioners. Nationwide, federal defenders are assigned 60% of criminal cases against defendants who cannot afford their own representation, and 40% go to the panel of private attorneys.
Courts typically turn to…
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We 5guruayurveda.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on. For any glitch kindly connect at 5guruayurveda.com
