Federal Judiciary: Pay for Defense Lawyers to Expire Sooner Than Forecasted - Articles

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Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Jun 24, 2025

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy St. Eve, chair of the Federal Judicial Conference’s Budget Committee, on Tuesday told a panel of the House Judiciary Committee that funds for the "Criminal Justice Act" (CJA) panel are set to expire on July 7 or 11, sooner than the conference's original estimate that funds could stretch until July 23. Bloomberg Law reports that the early 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 reimbursement for case-related expenses. The delay also comes on top of a two-week prescheduled payment pause this month for unrelated systems updates.