Defender Services – Annual Report 2024

Sixtieth Anniversary of the Criminal Justice Act

In 2024, the Judiciary celebrated the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA). Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 20, 1964, the CJA created a comprehensive system for appointing and compensating counsel to represent eligible individuals charged with crimes in federal court.

The act ensures that defendants who cannot afford to retain an attorney receive professional legal counsel by providing funding for court-appointed counsel in federal cases. Today, nearly 90 percent of federal criminal defendants are represented by counsel appointed under the CJA.

To mark this important milestone, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) organized several events, including a ceremony on February 8 at the Edward A. Garmatz Courthouse in the District of Maryland in Baltimore. The event featured remarks by District Judge Myron H. Thompson, of the Middle District of Alabama.

Thompson was appointed as a CJA panel attorney in the early 1970s. He reflected on how the CJA continues to ensure competent counsel to every person charged with a federal crime, regardless of their financial means. 

“I have had a front row seat to the implementation and evolution of the act,” Thompson told over 100 federal defenders and CJA panel attorneys at the event. “As to what the future holds, I can only say to all of you, do not be closed-minded to change or to new ideas.”

Later in the year, on August 19, judges, federal defenders, panel attorneys, and AO staff gathered at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building in Washington, D.C., for a commemoration that featured remarks by AO Director Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr., Judge Judith E. Levy, of the Eastern District of Michigan, and criminal defense attorney Jarrett M. Adams. The event also featured a panel discussion with former U.S. Circuit Judge Edward Prado and District Judge Kathleen Cardone, of the Western District of Texas. Cardone headed the Cardone Committee, which conducted the most recent review of the implementation of CJA, issuing its report in 2017.

At its September session, the Judicial Conference of the United States adopted a resolution recognizing the CJA anniversary. The resolution reflected the Conference’s continued support for the CJA as a critical component of the adversarial system of justice, one that is necessary to safeguard the constitutional right to counsel.

“By consistently providing exceptional legal representation to financially eligible clients, federal defenders and CJA panel attorneys play a crucial role in safeguarding individual rights and maintaining public confidence in our federal courts’ commitment to ‘equal justice under law,’” said Elizabeth Luck, chief of the AO’s Defender Services Office.

Training for Federal Defenders and CJA Panel Attorneys

In fiscal year 2024, the AO conducted 44 national training events for CJA panel attorneys, CJA service providers, federal defenders, paralegals, investigators, and other staff. Fifteen virtual programs and 29 in-person programs were conducted. Topics included substantive legal training on criminal law and procedure and trial skills to enhance federal defender and CJA panel attorneys’ courtroom advocacy skills. Workshops covered topics such as initial appearances, detention hearings, electronic case management, and sentencing mitigation.