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Criminal Justice Act

Under the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. §3006A, all persons charged with federal criminal offenses who are financially unable to obtain counsel are entitled to appointment of counsel to represent them. Each United States district court, with the approval of the judicial council of the circuit, has in operation throughout the district a plan for furnishing representation for any person financially unable to obtain adequate representation in accordance with this section. Representation under each plan shall include counsel and investigative, expert, and other services necessary for adequate representation. The Guide to Judiciary Policy-Volume 7: Defender Services (Part A) outlines the role of the courts in this service.The CJA plan in the Northern District of New York is defined in the district's General Order 1.

Becoming a CJA Attorney

To become a CJA attorney you must first be admitted to the Northern District of New York. Please see our Attorney Admissions page for details. Once you are admitted we recommend you submit an Application (web form) to the court along with a writing sample.

Once your application is submitted it is reviewed by a committee known as the CJA Panel Committee. The committee will evaluate and vote on each of the applicants. Their recommendations are then reviewed and voted upon by the Board of Judges for the Northern District of New York in their quarterly meetings which are held in March, June, September and December each year.The CJA attorney application process may take up to 3-4 months to complete. Please take these time frames into consideration when submitting your application in order to allow for sufficient processing time.

After the application and review process are complete you will receive a letter and additional information from the Clerk of Court determining your status with the CJA panel. Please note - it is a privilege, not a right, to serve as a CJA panel attorney in the Northern District of New York.

 CJA eVoucher

 The Court is now using the CJA payment system called eVoucher.  Check this site often
 for informational updates and training materials.

CJA Attorney Acknowledgment Form (Form must be submitted to court by any attorneys using CJA eVoucher)

Internet Browsers- eVoucher is compatible with the following web browsers:

  • Microsoft Edge v.16 or higher
  • Mozilla Firefox v.57 or higher
  • Safari v.10.1 or higher
  • Google Chrome v.62 or higher

Meeting with your Client via Microsoft Teams

The US District Court for the Northern District of New York has installed kiosks in local detention facilities that will allow remote court proceedings, interviews, and attorney-client meetings via Microsoft Teams. Currently this system is supported in Broome County, Clinton County, Delaware County, and Oneida County. You can schedule a meeting with your client using the Attorney-Client Meeting Calendar through MS Bookings. All meetings are private and subject to our Terms of Use.

For more details or general support of this service you can email facility_coordinators@nynd.uscourts.gov.

Rates & Compensation

Mileage Rates

The current mileage rate is 65.5 cents per mile ($0.655/mile) (as of 1/1/2023)

Date Range Mileage Rate
Effective 1/1/2014 $0.56
Effective 1/1/2015 $0.575
Effective 1/1/2016 $0.54
Effective 1/1/2017 $0.535
Effective 1/1/2018 $0.545
Effective 1/1/2019 $0.58
Effective 1/1/2020 $0.575
Effective 1/1/2021 $0.56
Effective 1/1/2022 $0.585
Effective 7/1/2022 $0.625
Effective 1/1/2023 $0.655

Important Audit Information

CJA Panels of the District and Circuit Courts of the Second Circuit are required to maintain contemporaneous billing records for all work performed on CJA cases to which they have been assigned, including work performed by associates, partners, support staff, as well as expense records. CJA counsel are required to maintain these records for a period of no less than three years for audit purposes.

Hourly Rates - Current (Effective 1/1/2023)

If case is a NON-CAPITAL case $164.00/hr
If case is a CAPITAL case $210.00/hr

 

Hourly Rates - Historical

Date Range In-Court Out-of-Court
Prior to 1/1/2000 $65 $45
1/1/2000 - 3/31/2001 $70 $50
4/1/2001 - 4/30/2002 $75 $55
5/1/2002 - 12/31/2005 $90 $90
1/1/2006 - 5/19/2007 $92 $92
5/20/2007 - 12/31/2007 $94 $94
1/1/2008 - 3/10/2009 $100 $100
3/11/2009 - 12/31/2009 $110 $110
1/1/2010 - 8/31/2013 $125 $125
9/1/2013 - 2/28/2014 $110 $110
3/1/2014 - 12/31/2014 $126 $126
1/1/2015 - 12/31/2015 $127 $127
1/1/2016 - 5/4/2017 $129 $129
5/5/2017 - 3/22/2018 $132 $132
3/23/2018 - 2/14/2019 $140 $140
2/15/2019 - 12/31/2019 $148 $148
1/1/2020 - 12/30/2020 $152 $152
1/1/2021 - 12/30/2021 $155 $155
1/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 $158 $158
1/1/2023 - $164 $164

 

Case Compensation Maximums (Counsel & Non-Capital) - As of 1/1/2023

Section (d)(2) of the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. §3006A, provides that the attorney case compensation maximums increase simultaneously by the aggregate percentage increases in the maximum hourly non-capital rate, rounded to the nearest $100.

Felony (including pre-trial diversion of alleged felony) $12,800.00
Misdemeanor (including pre-trial diversion of alleged misdemeanor) $3,600.00
Proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 4106A $2,700.00
Proceeding under 18 U.S.C. §§ 4107 or 4108 (for each verification proceeding) $3,600.00
Proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 983 $12,800.00
Post-conviction proceeding under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254 or 2255 $12,800.00
Proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 1875 $12,800.00
Appeal (from felony, misdemeanor, proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 4106A ,18 U.S.C. § 983, post-conviction proceeding under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254 or 2255, and 28 U.S.C.§ 1875) $9,100.00
Other representation required or authorized by the CJA (including, but not limited to probation, supervised release hearing, material witness, grand jury witness) $2,700.00
Appeal of other representation $2,700.00

 

Case Compensation Maximums (Non-Counsel & Non-Capital) - As of 1/1/2023

**Note: with prior authorization, the maximum applies separately for each service provider; without prior authorization, the maximum applies to the aggregate compensation (excluding expenses) claimed by all services providers combined, not to each service provider individually.

With prior court authorization $2,800.00
Without prior court authorization $900.00

 

Case Compensation Maximums (Non-Counsel & Capital)

For capital representations commenced, and capital appeals perfected on or after April 24, 1996, there is a waivable limit of $7,500. The $7,500 limit applies to the total payments for investigative, expert, and other services in a case, not to each service individually.

Forms and Additional Links