Judiciary to Run Out of Defense Lawyer Fund Sooner Than Expected

The federal judiciary expects to run out of money to pay criminal defense lawyers representing low-income individuals as early as July 7, sooner than originally projected, a judge told lawmakers.

Judge Amy St. Eve, the chair of the Judicial Conference’s budget committee, told a House panel Tuesday that funds for the so-called Criminal Justice Act panel are set to expire on July 7 or July 11, up from its original estimate that funds could stretch until July 23.

The earlier expiration of funds will mean that CJA panel attorneys, who are appointed by courts to represent criminal defendants who can’t afford representation, will go nearly three months without pay for their work or reimbursements for case-related expenses. It also comes on top of a two-week prescheduled payment pause this month for unrelated systems updates.

St. Eve, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on the court’s fiscal situation, said that defenders rely on these attorneys to step in to represent defendants when the federal defenders aren’t able to.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee’s courts panel, called the upcoming expiration an “imminent threat for the ability of the courts to operate in a constitutional way.”

The judiciary expects to pay these lawyers back once it receives next fiscal year’s funds, beginning on Oct. 1. But in the meantime, thousands of CJA panel attorneys, who are mostly solo practitioners or at small firms, won’t be paid for their work and will be left with the bill for expert witnesses, investigators, their own staff, and operating expenses as they continue to take on cases.

The judiciary has requested a more than 21% increase in funding next fiscal year for its federal defenders. Those funds will go toward maintaining current defender services, hiring enough new employees, and covering the costs of paying private attorneys to represent indigent defendants, according to the request.

Still, Committee Republicans appeared hesitant to give the judiciary its full requested funding increase overall, which also included more funding for judicial security.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said lawmakers are “comfortable with making sure there’s security” but “we’re not so comfortable giving increases in everything else.”