(amended on 05/14/2023)
(a) Right to Court-Appointed Counsel Generally.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 44(a), every indigent defendant shall be entitled to have counsel
assigned to represent him or her at every stage of the proceedings, from initial appearance
before a magistrate judge or the district court, through appeal, including ancillary matters
appropriate to the proceedings, unless the defendant waives the appointment and the court
consents after proper inquiry. Appointments shall be made pursuant to Volume 7 of the Guide
to Judiciary Policies and Procedures as approved by the Judicial Conference of the United
States.
(b) Filing of Vouchers for Fees and Expenses; Limits.
(1) Counsel appointed pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act shall submit their completed voucher
for fees and expenses as soon as possible upon completion of services rendered, but no
later than forty-five (45) days from the final disposition of the case. Any request for extension
of time to submit a voucher shall be submitted within the forty-five (45) days provided by this
rule and shall show good cause for the extension. Any voucher submitted for payment more
than one year after completion of services rendered will not be paid.
(2) Block entries are not permitted. Each service provided will be itemized by date, indicating the
amount of time claimed for each service.
(3) Time spent reviewing texts of Notices of Electronic Filing (NEF), and documents related to
the NEF pertaining to counsel’s client or other defendants, however, may be grouped
together in accordance with the “New Criminal Justice Act Billing Policy for Review of Notices
of Electronic Filings (NEF) in Mega Cases”, dated March 12, 2012.
(4) If the amounts claimed as fees and expenses exceed the statutory limit, counsel shall submit,
together with the voucher, a CJA Form 26 (Statement for a Compensation Claim in Excess
of the Statutory Case Compensation Maximum).
(c) Reduction of CJA Compensation Vouchers.
When the court approves an amount for payment in a Criminal Justice Act voucher that is
substantially reduced from the amount requested, the court shall allow counsel no more than ten
(10) days to explain, or produce additional papers supporting, the amounts that were reduced.
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