A special committee conducting a comprehensive review of the nation’s federal system of indigent defense has wrapped up a series of seven hearings around the country. The sessions featured more than 100 hours of public testimony from federal defenders, panel attorneys, judges, prosecutors, advocacy groups and academics.
The Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Program will spend the next several months analyzing the written and oral testimony it received before drafting its recommendations. It expects to issue its report by April 2017. The two-year study(link is external) is the first comprehensive look at the federal public defense system in over 20 years. Members of the committee were appointed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
“With approximately 90 percent of all federal criminal defendants in this country found to be indigent, the enormity and importance of this study cannot be overstated,” said Judge Kathleen Cardone, of the Western District of Texas, who chairs the committee. “Aware that our system of federal indigent defense is held up as a model around the world, the committee takes its charge most seriously. I am honored to chair a committee comprised of such dedicated and concerned individuals.”
Full article can be viewed at: http://www.uscourts.gov/news/2016/06/01/ad-hoc-panel-weighs-possible-changes-cja
Categorized in: Legal Procedure
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