How to Become a Federal Court Appointed Attorney

Court appointed attorneys in the federal courts are called Criminal Justice Act ("CJA") panel attorneys. Panel attorneys are necessary for indigent criminal clients when the federal public defender's service cannot handle their cases because of a conflict of interest or heavy case load. Accepting federal appointments is a good idea for attorneys who are interested in criminal defense work because it provides them with great experience and can provide a steady stream of clients.

Instructions

1. Become admitted to practice law in a jurisdiction. In order to receive court appointed cases in federal court, you must first be admitted to practice law in a state court. This requires you to attend law school and pass a bar exam for a particular state jurisdiction.

2. Gain admission to the bar of the federal district in which you practice law. Once you have passed a bar exam and are admitted to practice in state court, you may apply to become a member of the federal bar in your state jurisdiction. Some states have only one federal district, such as Delaware, and others have many districts, such as California, which has four federal districts. While you can seek admission to all of the federal districts in which you can practice, in order to take federal court appointed cases you should seek admission to the district or districts in which you are going to practice.

3. Complete and submit an application to become a CJA panel attorney. In some cases, an application to become a CJA panel attorney can be found on the Internet at a given federal district court's website, while with others you will be required to go to the clerk of court's office in the federal district court to pick up an application. The application will ask you questions regarding your law practice, what types of cases you have handled, how many criminal cases you have handled, how many trials you have completed, whether there have been any disciplinary proceedings brought against you, character issues, and whether you have malpractice insurance. When this is complete, you must submit it to the clerk of courts for the federal district in which you wish to practice.

References

• Federal Judicial Center: Inside the Federal Courts
• United States District Court for the District of Utah: Membership in the Court's Bar: Frequently Asked Questions
• Federal Public Defender's Office: United States District Court for the District of Delaware CJA Panel Application
• United States Ninth Circuit: Courts