NDAL - CJA Application Form

U.S. District Court
Northern District of Alabama

CJA Application Form For Appointment

Welcome to the Northern District of Alabama’s online application process for seeking appointment to the Criminal Justice Act panel for the Northern District. The Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) panel is composed of no more than 75 lawyers selected by the court through this selection process, who are responsible for representing indigent criminal defendants and witnesses, probation- and supervision-revocation defendants, and any other person before the court for whom the Sixth Amendment provides a right to counsel.
The goal of the Court is to establish and maintain a panel that provides the highest quality of representation possible for persons in need of counsel. This application process is to assure a fair, equal, and transparent opportunity for all lawyers interested in working on the panel to seek membership and to receive fair and equal distribution of criminal appointments. All applications for membership on the panel will be thoroughly reviewed and considered, and all recommendations to the Court concerning membership will be made by majority vote of the CJA Administrative Committee, a committee of the court composed of a district judge, a magistrate judge, the Court Resource Counsel, and five other members of the bar. The standard always will be to attempt to select those lawyers who can most competently and zealously represent defendants before the Court.
The Court recognizes the value of having a diverse membership on the panel, and every effort will be made to fill the panel with a wide and diverse cross-section of the entire bar practicing in the federal criminal area. Although the selection process strives to be open, fair, and non-discriminatory, it also will strive to ensure greater diversity–whether based on race, gender, ethnicity or geography–than may have existed in the past.

Suggestion: Due to time-out issues, please print out the application form and complete manually before submitting the form electronically.

Please specify application for appointments to the divisions listed below:
Eastern Southern Northwest Middle Northeast Jasper Western
First Name		Middle Name
Last Name		Generation
E-Mail:	(include only one e-mail address)
AL Bar Number	(include dashes; Example: ASB-9999-X99X)
Firm Name
Office Address
Office City
Office State		Firm ZIP Example: 12345 or 12345-1234
Office Phone	Example: 205-123-1234
Cell Phone	Example: 205-123-1234
Fax Number	Example: 205-123-1234
Residence Address

Please answer the following questions.

1. Please provide a chronological resume beginning with college and law school through current employer.

2. Provide dates of admission to each court of which you are a member of the bar:
Court	Date

3. Have you previously applied for appointment to this panel? Yes No
If yes, list the date of each application and the name of any persons who interviewed you:

4. Have you previously served on this district's CJA panel? Yes No
If yes, list the dates of your service:

List the names of the 15 most recent defendants to whom you were assigned in the Northern District of Alabama, including the case number in each case. List only one case number per defendant. Note: You may search for your cases on CM/ECF. Under the Query option, enter your Last Name and First Name and change the Type to Attorney and click the Run Query button. Click here to access the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama CM/ECF website.
Defendant	Case Number Format: 7:01CR00367-RBP-TMP or 01-00367-RBP

5. Trial Experience: how many criminal cases have you tried to a verdict in the last 10 years:
U.S. District Court, NDAL
Other Federal Experience
State Court (include state court trials in the last 5 years)

6. List the ten (10) most recent federal criminal trials in which you participated and provide the information requested for each entry.
(To ensure successful submission of your form, use the following format for the Case Number: 7:01CR00367-RBP-TMP or 01-00367-RBP).
Enter one case number per entry.

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

7. List the ten (10) most recent state criminal trials in which you participated and provide the information requested for each entry.
Enter ONE case number per entry.

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

Year

Defendant Name:

Case No

Trial:	Jury Bench Length Verdict: Yes No (if yes, Jury Bench )
	Felony Misdemeanor
	Role: Lead Other
	Death Penalty Applicable: Yes No

8. Have you previously served on any other panel for defense lawyers at the state or federal level? Yes No
If yes, list each panel and the dates of your service. If no longer on the panel, explain why.

9. Has any present or former client successfully prevailed against you in a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in a state or federal proceeding?
Yes No
If yes, explain, including defendant's name and case number.

10. Has your application for any panel ever been turned down? Yes No
If yes, explain, giving panel and year of application. If interviewed, give name of current phone number of interviewer.

11. Have you ever been removed from, or not renewed on, any panel? Yes No
If yes, explain, giving panel, year of removal or non-removal, and reasons.

12. List the five most recent appeals you handled, including the information requested below:
Date	Case Name	Court	Citation	Wrote Brief	Argued Appeal

13. Have you ever asked to be relieved from handling an appeal, or had the appeal briefed and argued by another person while remaining counsel of record (assigned cases only)? Yes No
If yes, explain.

14. List any other legal experience which you believe would be helpful in evaluating your competence to serve on this panel (e.g. civil trials, civil or criminal appeals, criminal cases involving pre-trial or post-trial representations, publications, etc.). Include, where appropriate, the names and telephone numbers of adversaries and co-counsel or judges.

15. Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Yes No
If yes, explain.

16. Have you ever been held in contempt or been the subject of a contempt proceeding? Yes No
If yes, explain disposition.

17. Have you ever been disciplined in any jurisdiction? Yes No
If yes, give the particulars, including the jurisdiction and whether the proceeding progressed beyond a request for a response to a complaint. If the proceeding is still pending, please provide the details.

18. Would you be interested in serving on a panel of lawyers appointed to provide representation in capital cases? Yes No
If yes, please describe any particular qualifications that you have to provide representation for a defendant in a case where there is a possibility that the death penalty may be imposed. Please relate these qualifications to the case in #6 and #7 above in which the death penalty was applicable.

19. Would you be interested in serving on a panel of lawyers appointed to provide representation in non-trial type matters? Yes No
If yes, please check the appropriate boxes in the list and describe in the text box any particular qualifications that you have, including past representation in habeas cases, civil or criminal appeals, publications, etc.

28:2254 Habeas Proceedings
28:2255 Habeas Proceedings
Appellate Proceedings
Revocations of Probation / Supervised Release
42:1983 Prisoner Proceedings
Civil Pro Se / Pro Bono Cases
Involuntary Comitment/Confinement Proceedings
Grand Jury Witness

20. List any Continuing Legal Education experience within the last five years, either as a lecturer or participant, in criminal or trial advocacy programs.

21. Please list any special qualifications you have, such as fluency in a foreign language, or expertise in a relevant area of law such as immigration, which you believe the Selection Committee should be aware of.

I have read and under stood the provisions of this Court's CJA Plan which was approved on September 15, 2006. Specifically, I understand:

the appointment is for a renewable three-year term

that I must attend at least six (6) hours of CLE annually focused on criminal law sponsored or approved by the CJA Committee; and

that I may be removed from the panel by a majority vote of the active district judges of the Northern District of Alabama.