THE HOURLY COMPENSATION for private attorneys who represent indigent criminal defendants at trial and on appeal in federal court, under provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, increased to $90 effective May 1.

The new rate, a flat fee for in-court and out-of-court services, represents a 20 percent increase over the current $75 rate for in-court representation and a 64 percent jump from the $55 for out-of-court work. The increase is included in a congressional appropriation that has been signed by President George W. Bush.

Commenting on the higher fee, 1^st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kermit V. Lipez, who serves as the court's CJA liaison judge, said, "Attorneys who do court-appointed work play a vital role in our criminal justice system. We recognize that the compensation for that work is not an accurate measure of its importance. Therefore, it is always gratifying to see that imbalance addressed by Congress."

More than 10,000 private practitioners nationwide accept assignments under the Criminal Justice Act, which authorizes payment of hourly compensation rates and out-of-pocket expenses to attorneys appointed by federal judges to represent indigent criminal defendants. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees an accused person the right to representation in serious criminal prosecutions.

When the CJA was enacted in 1964, the hourly compensation was so low ($15 for in-court work and $10 for out-of-court work) that those lawyers providing the representation still had to make a substantial commitment of pro bono time. Congress moved to amend the act in 1970 to permit judicial districts in the federal system to establish public defender offices as an additional source of defense representation for the indigent.

In the 1^st Circuit, which encompasses the districts of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island, federal public defender offices have been established in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Puerto Rico. A Rhode Island office is scheduled to open in the near future.

For additional information, please contact the 1^st Circuit's public affairs officer, Barbara Rabinovitz, at (617) 748-4012.

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