CJA Panel

WELCOME!

Pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (18 U.S.C. § 3006A), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has adopted a plan for the representation of any person otherwise financially unable to obtain adequate representation. This is a secured site designed to assist CJA Panel Attorneys in the Eastern District of Michigan in the representation of indigent defendants in the U.S. District Court. All criminal defense attorneys are welcome to browse the site to assist them in providing representation to indigent clients. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments regarding this site, please contact the Website Administrator @ gregory_marshall @fd.org.

To access secure documents for attorneys admitted to the CJA panel, click here.

Applications are screened when the Court feels that additional panel members are needed.  The screening is performed by the CJA Selection Committee, a panel of experienced federal court practitioners in the East District of Michigan. The Committee's recommendations for admission are forwarded to the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for final approval. Admission to the Panel is contingent upon the number of vacancies and may not be open for new members each year. All current CJA members must reapply for readmission to the Panel every three years. At that time, new members are always considered.  Attorneys who may not have enough experience to qualify for admission to the CJA Panel are encouraged to apply the the CJA mentorship program. Participants will serve as second chair and participate in all phases of a federal criminal case from start to finish.  Participants are compensated for their time at a rate set by the Court. Mentors are selected from the Eastern District Federal Bar Association's mentoring list of experienced federal criminal practitioners.  If you are interested in joining the mentorship program, please complete a CJA application along with a cover letter indicating your interest.  Mentorship classes open periodically.

The CJA Panel Attorney Program for the Eastern District of Michigan is an equal opportunity program in all facets of its activities and services, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, protected disability, height, weight, martial status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status or characteristic.

Active Status on the Panel

To remain an active member on the CJA panel and continue to receive case assignments, each member is asked to accept a minimum of two CJA cases per year. Members who do not accept a minimum of two cases per year are placed on inactive status and removed from the roster of new case assignments. Members who are placed on inactive status must contact the Federal Community Defender to request reinstatement to active status.  Members may not refuse cases because they do not wish to take certain types of assignments.  Members who appear to be declining cases due to the nature of the charges will be contacted and may be subject to removal from the panel.

Representation of CJA Defendants

The panel member, and not an associate or another member of the firm, must represent the client at all federal court proceedings. Attorneys appointed to a case must continue to serve until representation is terminated by court order. Acceptance of a criminal assignment means that representation continues through the entire appellate process, including the Petition for Certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, if the client so desires and there is a meritorious issue.

National Litigation Support Team

The National Litigation Support Team (NLST) provide technology, resources, education and training for CJA panel counsel to efficiently search, review, and analyze e-discovery and digital evidence. For CJA panel attorneys, the NLST is able to work as a consultant, resource center, and sounding board for all litigation support aspects of a case. To contact NLST, please go to its website, linked above.

NLST also has collected a national compilation of private paralegals who (1) have previously been authorized by a federal district court to provide paralegal services in CJA cases and (2) are willing to provide paralegal services in CJA cases. You can access the list here.

Withdrawing from CJA Cases

Once an appearance is filed and/or a CJA voucher issues for a new case, appointed counsel must file a motion to withdraw to be relieved as counsel. The motion must be served upon the client. When the motion is granted, the Federal Community Defender is reappointed and the case assigned to new counsel. The motion should be filed with the district court judge or magistrate judge who is presiding over the case. Until the court grants the motion, appointed counsel remains the attorney-of-record, and the Federal Community Defender has no authority to assign new counsel. If the case is at the appellate stage, and a Notice of Appeal has been filed, a motion to withdraw must be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Court of Appeals will appoint new counsel from their list of CJA attorneys.

Substitution of Counsel in CJA Cases

If a CJA attorney is substituted for another CJA attorney previously appointed in the same case, the total compensation which may be paid to both attorneys shall not exceed the statutory maximum for one defendant, unless the case involves extended or complex representation. In such cases, vouchers for attorney's services shall not be approved by a judicial officer until the conclusion of the trial so that the judicial officer may make such apportionment between the attorneys as may be just.