The program that pays court-appointed private attorneys to represent indigent federal criminal defendants ran out of money July 3, causing a three-month delay in paying the attorneys and their related service providers for constitutionally mandated legal work, according to U.S. Courts News, the online data and news service of the federal court system.
The continuing resolution to fund the government for fiscal year 2025 passed by Congress in March froze all judicial branch funding at the fiscal year 2024 level, which resulted in funding running out early. Because of the hard freeze of the funding level, money is not available within other judiciary accounts to address the gap.
The attorneys can’t be paid until Oct. 1, when the federal budget’s new fiscal year begins.
The judiciary is in communication with congressional appropriators about the need for $116 million in supplemental funding to mitigate payment deferrals.
The funding lapse raises concern within the federal judiciary that many of the private lawyers, known as panel attorneys, could decline new cases. That could leave defendants, including those on death row, without adequate representation.
“The right of a criminal defendant to effective counsel regardless of the defendant’s economic status is guaranteed under our Constitution and the Criminal Justice Act. That fundamental right is at risk because we ran out of funding on July 3 to pay the private practice attorneys appointed to represent federal defendants,” said U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy St. Eve, chair of the Judicial Conference’s Budget Committee, in a post at uscourts.gov.
There are more than 12,000 private panel attorneys throughout the country who accept Criminal Justice Act (CJA) assignments annually. About 85% of them work for small firms or are solo practitioners, U.S. Court News said.
The Middle District of Florida spans from Northeast Florida to Southwest Florida with federal courthouses in Jacksonville, Orlando, Ocala, Tampa and and Fort Myers.
In terms of local impact of the shortfall, data provided by the Clerk of Court indicates there are 150 CJA panel lawyers in the Middle District.
The clerk said those lawyers usually are paid only after a case is closed and it would be difficult to know how many cases will be closed over the next three months.
Across the Middle District, there are approximately 670 cases where CJA lawyers were appointed in 2024 or 2025 and final payment has not yet issued. Of those, 81 are in the Jacksonville Division.
In 2024, during roughly the same period as this year’s freeze, (July 1 – Sept. 30), the Middle District of Florida processed 325 vouchers for a total of $1,094,083.44.
“I have very serious concerns about the impact this funding shortfall will have on the Court’s ability to fulfill the Sixth Amendment’s promise of the right to counsel for all criminal defendants. The dedicated lawyers who serve on the CJA panel embody that promise and play a crucial role in the Court’s administration of justice. My colleagues and I are immensely grateful to the hard-working CJA lawyers who continue to serve under the circumstances. It is deeply disappointing that we must ask these lawyers to continue doing this difficult and important work without timely payment,” said Marcia Morales Howard, chief U.S. district judge for the Middle District of Florida, in a July 22 email.
U.S. Court News said the funding shortfall also affects specialists employed by the defense to help effectively present their clients’ cases, such as investigators, interpreters and expert witnesses. Many of those roles may go unfilled for three months, with unpredictable consequences for the criminal justice system.
Panel attorneys are paid an hourly rate of $175 in non-capital cases. In capital cases, the a maximum hourly rate is $223, which is significantly lower than market rate. The rates include both attorney compensation and office overhead, such as rent, supplies and equipment.