Application Period Now Open for New Members of the Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) Panel for the Western District of North Carolina
The CJA Panel Selection Committee for the Western District of North Carolina is now accepting applications for membership on the CJA panel of attorneys available for appointment in indigent cases. Existing panel members whose terms are expiring in 2023 must also re-apply at this time and will be notified separately. Applications are available at http://ncw.fd.org.
The CJA Panel consists of qualified and court-approved attorneys who are eligible for appointment to represent defendants in federal criminal cases who are financially unable to retain counsel. Applicants to the CJA panel must have the necessary experience to serve as counsel of record in a federal criminal case, must maintain physical office space in the Western District of North Carolina, and must satisfy all other requirements set forth in the revised CJA Plan for the Western District of North Carolina, which can be found here.
Applicants who lack the experience required for membership in the CJA panel but otherwise satisfy all applicable requirements may apply for membership in the CJA Training Panel. Attorneys on the training panel are required to attend a mandatory orientation seminar consisting of a full-day training on the basics of federal criminal defense. Training panel attorneys will also be assigned a mentoring attorney to assist in developing the necessary skills to meet the requirements to apply to become a CJA panel member. An attorney will be accepted onto the CJA Training Panel only once, and for a maximum of three years.
Please note there are now three updated application forms:
- CJA General Application for those applying for the general or training panel for the first time,
- CJA Transitional Application for current training panel members applying to the general panel, and
- CJA Re-Application for existing panel members whose terms are expiring.
Cmpleted applications, along with all required attachments and recommendations, should be sent electronically to NCW_CJAPanelApplication@fd.org, and must be received by June 30, 2023.
