NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
April 12, 2024

CJA Payments. Attorney payments under the Criminal Justice Act rose in 2023. The district processed 319 CJA attorney vouchers totaling $3,294,680. That represents a 3.22% increase from 2022 attorney payments. Other expenditures decreased. The district spent $302,361 for experts and investigators in 2023. This represents a 16% decrease from a year earlier. Transcript expenditures also dropped 17% from 2022.

Comparing our payment data to the Federal Public Defendant’s appointment statistics, CJA panel attorneys received 29% of all appointments. The CJA Plan calls for approximately 25% of appointments to go to CJA panel attorneys. The hourly rate for attorneys appointed under the CJA was $164 in 2023. Effective January 1, 2024, the rate increased to $172.

Transcript Redaction Requests. For more than a decade counsel has been required to file Transcript Redaction Requests pursuant to Judicial Conference Policy and Rule 5.2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule 49.1 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Judicial Conference Policy requires counsel to file redaction requests within 21 days of the filing of a transcript, indicating where personal identifiers appear in the transcript by page and line and how they are to be redacted. Counsel is also required to certify that a copy of the redaction request was provided to the court reporter. Recently we discovered that more than half of the redaction requests filed in the last year, did not include a certification. Often we use contract court reporters or court reporters from other districts to cover hearings and trials. These reporters do not get electronic notice. One way to make sure you comply with Judicial Conference Policy is to use the form available on our website.