APPLICATION FORM FOR THE 
COURT OF APPEALS 
CJA LIST

INTRODUCTION
		
	The District of Columbia Court of Appeals seeks highly qualified counsel to provide representation to indigent criminal appellants and juvenile respondents pursuant to D.C. Code § 11-2601 et seq., and the Plan for Furnishing Representation to Indigents Under the District of Columbia Criminal Justice Act, Title II § B(2).  Applicants for inclusion on the Court’s list of attorneys eligible for CJA appointments should be committed to providing timely and effective representation and must establish that they have sufficient qualifications to meet the requirements imposed by this Court through its rules and case law.  Please review the memorandum titled “Obligations of Counsel” for a summary of the Court’s expectations for attorneys who are approved for CJA appointments.  This can be found at https://www.dccourts.gov/services/cja-practitioner under the “For the CJA Practitioner” section.  Applicants also should be committed to improving and maintaining their advocacy and brief writing skills.  Please see Miscellaneous Order No. M-217-03 establishing continuing legal education requirements for CJA attorneys and the 2006 Notice to CJA Counsel Concerning the Annual CLE Requirement.  Both of these are also located at the above web address.  (Attorneys added to the list in 2021 will only be required to complete four hours to meet the CLE obligation for 2021.)  E-filing is now mandatory for all attorneys and you must be registered for e-filing when you submit your application.  Additionally, all vouchers are issued electronically and if selected you must complete the registration information for the court’s web voucher service, including obtaining a DUNS number and registering for SAMS.

Application and all documentation must be emailed to CJAApplication@dcappeals.gov by August 6, 2021.  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

A.		Membership in good standing in the D.C. Bar.

B.		Office within the metropolitan D.C. area and an email address.  All vouchers and payments are issued electronically and if accepted to the panel, you must compete the enrollment requirement for the web voucher portal.  E-filing rules requires all pleadings be filed electronically.

C.		Commitment to remain on the CJA appointments list for a minimum of two years.

D.		Commitment to complete the yearly CLE requirement and update the application yearly with new information.  See Miscellaneous Order No. M-217-03.

E.		Completion of the attached questionnaire.  If a question does not apply, please so state.  The application includes a release and waiver of confidentiality and permits the Office of Disciplinary Counsel to release information on disciplinary records to the D.C. Court of Appeals.  You must email your application and writing sample to CJAApplication@dcappeals.gov. Non-compliant applications will not be considered. 

QUESTIONNAIRE

1.		Please state your full name and D.C. bar number.

2.		Please provide your business address, telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email address.

3.		Please identify each college and law school you have attended, including dates of
	attendance and the degrees awarded.

4. 	Please describe chronologically your law practice and experience since you graduated from law school.  

5.  	Please list all courts before which you are licensed to practice, including dates of 	admission and whether you are currently a member in good standing.

6.	Please state whether you are or have been a member of any of the Superior Court CJA lists or other state or federal indigent criminal defense lists.  If so, identify the list or lists and state the length of time you have been on each list.  If you are no longer a member of a specific list, the reason for your removal. 

7.	Please indicate whether you are seeking:
		
		/_/	appointments only to cases in which you were trial counsel
		/_/	appointments only to cases in which you were not trial counsel
		/_/	appointments in all cases whether or not you were trial counsel

8.	For each section below, please state what percentage of (1) your current practice and (2) your practice during the past seven years is devoted to:

		(a) criminal or juvenile delinquency appeals.
		(b) adult criminal cases other than appeals.
		(c)  juvenile delinquency cases other than appeals.
		(d) mental health cases either on appeal or in the trial court.
		(e) post-conviction litigation.

9.	Please state the approximate number of appeals in this court in which you have filed a brief.  List the three most recent appeals by name, citation (if available), appeal number, and disposition.

10.  	Please state the approximate number of adult felony cases and the approximate number of adult misdemeanor cases that you have tried.  

11.	Please state the approximate number of juvenile delinquency cases that you have tried.  

12.	Please describe your experience in litigating collateral challenges to criminal convictions and in habeas corpus litigation, indicating whether this experience was associated with your representation of defendants in their direct appeals from their convictions.

13.	Please describe other litigation experience relevant to your qualifications to be included on the CJA list.

14.	Please list any relevant continuing legal educational courses or programs that you have attended in the last five years (criminal law or brief writing), identifying the sponsor of the course or program and the year you attended it.

15.	Please specify any foreign language in which you are fluent.  State whether you use any translation software.

16.	Please provide the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references who can discuss your ability to handle criminal appeals. 

17. 	If you have previously applied for the panel, list relevant experience and educational studies that you have completed since your last application.  Identify the prior year of application submission.  If you have previously been on the panel, identify the years, the reason you are no longer on the panel, and relevant experience or education since you were on the panel. 

18.	Since your admission to any bar have you been (please answer yes or no for each subsection):

            a.  Convicted of any crime, other than a minor traffic offense; 

	 b.  Sued by any client;

	 c.  Found to have rendered ineffective assistance of counsel; 

	 d.  Disciplined or cited for a breach of ethics or professional conduct; 

	 e.  Removed or suspended from any court approved appointment list; or;

	 f.  Subject to any bar complaints, regardless of whether discipline was imposed?

	If the answer to any sub-part of this question is yes, provide a full explanation. 

By signing and submitting this application for consideration, you are hereby waiving confidentiality for the purpose of Disciplinary Counsel releasing information on your disciplinary records to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

19.	Please provide any other information that would be helpful in assessing your qualifications and ability to represent indigent appellants in criminal or delinquency appeals.  You may, if you wish, attach a resume.

20.	Please attach a recent brief or other legal writing sample, preferably dealing with an issue arising in the criminal law context.

		

I hereby certify: (1) that I have responded accurately to the questions asked in the questionnaire to the best of my ability to do so; (2) that the writing sample attached to this application is solely my work product; (3) that I am a member in good standing of the bar of the District of Columbia; and (4) that I have reviewed and agree to comply with the obligations outlined in the “Obligations of Counsel” memorandum, the Continuing Legal Education requirements identified in Miscellaneous Order No. M217-03, the 2006 Notice to CJA Counsel Concerning the Annual CLE Requirement, and the November 2015 Voucher Guidelines.  These documents are available on the Court’s website.

					
  Date:                                                 	Signature: __________________________