Chapter 5, § 540: History of the Disclosure Policy

§ 540 History of the Disclosure Policy

(a) The Fiscal Year 1998 Judiciary Appropriations Act amended 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(d)(4) to require amounts paid to attorneys under the CJA be made publicly available pursuant to a specific process. The amendment applied to cases filed on or after January 25, 1998 and included a two-year sunset provision. Public Law No. 105-119, Nov. 26, 1997. To conform to the amendment, the Judicial Conference approved in March 1999 revisions to paragraph 5.01B of the Guidelines for the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act and Related Statutes, Volume VII, Guide to Judiciary Policies and Procedures (Legacy Guide). See: JCUS-MAR 1999, pp. 15-16.

Note: These amendments are now incorporated into Guide, Vol 7A, § 520 and § 530.

(b) In March 2000, the Judicial Conference agreed to retain the revised guideline after the scheduled sunset, with the following minor revisions: (a) to show that for cases filed on or after January 25, 2000, the guideline will no longer be statutorily based; and (b) to reflect a further amendment to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(d)(4), enacted as part of the Fiscal Year 2000 Judiciary Appropriations Act (Public Law No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501), which states that in death penalty cases where the underlying alleged criminal conduct took place on or after April 19, 1995, the amount of the fees shall not be considered a reason justifying limited disclosure of payments to attorneys. JCUS-MAR 2000, pp. 16-17.

(c) For Payments to Providers of Services other than Counsel in Cases Commenced on or after April 24, 1996, and for Payments to Attorneys in Cases Commenced on or after April 24, 1996 but before January 25, 1998:

(1) The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214, amended the CJA (18 U.S.C. § 3006A), and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (ADAA) (codified in part at 21 U.S.C. § 848(q), recodified in 2005 as 18 U.S.C. § 3599), expressly to provide for disclosure to the public of the amounts paid for representation with respect to cases commenced, and appellate proceedings in which an appeal is perfected, on or after April 24, 1996.

(2) With respect to noncapital cases, the CJA, as amended, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(d)(4) and (e)(4), provided that the amounts paid under those subsections in any case "shall be made available to the public."

(3) With respect to capital cases, the ADAA, as amended, 21 U.S.C. § 848(q)(10)(C) (now 18 U.S.C. § 3599(g)(3)), provided that the amounts paid under that paragraph in any case "shall be disclosed to the public, after the disposition of the petition."

(4) Judicial Conference policy required that the timing of disclosure be consistent with the principles stated in Guide, Vol 7A, § 510.

(d) For All Payments in Cases Commenced Before April 24, 1996:

The general principles regarding the release of information stated in § 510 governed.

Last revised (Transmittal 07-014) January 5, 2022