Criminal Justice Act: Protecting the Right to Counsel for 60 Years

For 60 years, the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) has ensured that defendants who cannot afford to retain an attorney receive professional legal counsel by providing funding for court-appointed counsel in federal cases.

“The CJA has been a critical advance toward ensuring that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of the right to counsel is upheld for every person accused of crime in federal court, regardless of their financial means,” said U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, chair of the Defender Services Committee.

The legislation, signed into law on Aug. 20, 1964, helped create the modern federal defenders system and redefine a criminal defendant’s right to counsel. Today, nearly 90 percent of federal criminal defendants are aided by lawyers, investigators, and experts paid for under the CJA.

“By consistently providing exceptional legal representation to financially eligible clients, federal defenders and CJA panel attorneys play a crucial role in safeguarding individual rights and maintaining public confidence in our federal courts’ commitment to ‘equal justice under law,’” said Elizabeth Luck, chief of the Defender Services Office at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson was appointed as a CJA panel attorney in the early 1970s. At a February event in celebration of the historic legislation, he reflected on how the CJA continues to ensure competent counsel to every person charged of a federal crime, regardless of their means. The right to counsel, extended to state criminal cases by Gideon v. Wainwright, is now taken for granted by many Americans.

“I have had a front row seat to the implementation and evolution of the Act,” said Thompson, during his address to over 100 federal defenders and CJA panel attorneys at the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse, in Baltimore. “As to what the future holds, I can only say to all of you, do not be closed-minded to change or to new ideas.”

Learn more about the history of the CJA and how the Judiciary’s Defender Services Office works to protect the right to counsel and even the courtroom odds through continuing education, training, and support for defenders and court-appointed private lawyers across the country.