Criminal Justice Act (CJA) representation program

E71450

The Criminal Justice Act (CJA) representation program is a federal system that provides court-appointed legal counsel and related defense services to indigent defendants in U.S. federal criminal cases.


Statements (41)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal program
federal indigent defense program
legal aid program
administeredBy Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
appliesToCaseType certain federal post-conviction proceedings
federal felony cases
federal habeas corpus proceedings for persons under federal sentence
federal misdemeanor cases
federal petty offense cases
federal probation revocation proceedings
federal supervised release revocation proceedings
basedOnStatute Criminal Justice Act of 1964
benefit ensures representation for defendants who cannot afford counsel in federal court
country United States
establishedToAddress lack of systematic federal provision of counsel for indigent defendants prior to 1964
establishes compensation structure for appointed counsel
procedures for authorization and payment of investigative and expert services
fundingSource federal judiciary appropriations
implementedBy each U.S. district court through a CJA plan
includesComponent CJA panel attorneys
community defender organizations
federal public defender organizations
jurisdiction United States federal courts
legalBasis 18 U.S.C. § 3006A
overseenBy Judicial Conference of the United States
providesService court-appointed legal representation
expert services for the defense
investigative services for the defense
other necessary defense services
purpose to ensure the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in federal criminal proceedings
to provide court-appointed legal counsel to indigent defendants in federal criminal cases
relatedTo Sixth Amendment right to counsel
federal public defender system
representationProvidedBy community defender organizations
federal public defenders
private attorneys appointed under the CJA
requires appointment of counsel for financially eligible defendants in situations where the Sixth Amendment requires representation
appointment of counsel for financially eligible defendants who are charged with a felony or Class A misdemeanor
scope applies only to federal criminal and related proceedings, not state cases
servesPopulation financially eligible defendants in federal criminal proceedings
indigent defendants in federal criminal cases

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Committee on Defender Services
oversees

Please wait…