The District Court of the Virgin Islands hereby invites members of the District Court Bar to apply to serve on the CJA panel. New applications for the CJA panel will be considered once per year. Therefore, this invitation will be the only solicitation for new CJA panel members until October 2015.

 

The CJA Panel serves a very important function in the District. It provides the means through which indigent defendants obtain representation by qualified attorneys when the Federal Public Defender has a conflict of interest or is otherwise unable to undertake the representation.

 

Members of the panel are currently compensated at the rate of $126 per hour. Pursuant to the CJA Plan for the District Court of the Virgin Islands, panel members shall serve for a period of twenty-four (24) months unless earlier termination is requested. However, panel members may seek to be reappointed to the panel, with no limit on the number of times that reappointment may be sought.

 

Please note that attorneys may express an interest in serving on the panel in either or both Divisions of the Court. However, attorneys will not be compensated for travel necessitated by the fact that they reside in a Division different from the one in which the appointment is made.

 

To apply to serve on the panel, please submit a completed Application for Membership on the Criminal Justice Act Panel to the Clerk of Court no later than October 31, 2014. The application is available on the District Court’s website at www.vid.uscourts.gov. Attorneys who presently serve on the panel, and whose term of service has not expired, need not apply.

 

Once received, applications will be considered by the CJA Standing Committee and an Order will be issued accordingly.

 

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Clerk’s