Diversifying the Solo Defense Practice

Setting up a solo defense practice can be a scary thing, but there are ways to diversify your client base. Did you know you can apply to list yourself as an appointed defense attorney in federal and state trial and appellate cases?

The Criminal Justice Act (CJA) provides for adequate representation of Defendants in Federal Court under 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a). The United States District Court in Colorado has a panel of private attorneys called a CJA panel. Attorneys who are members of the Federal Bar Association can apply for a position with the CJA panel. To be eligible for service on the panel, lawyers must certify that they have a working knowledge of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual, and are competent to try a federal criminal case. Such certification of competency shall be made under Disciplinary Rule 6-101 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. Once attorneys are approved by CJA and the U.S. District Court, they can be appointed to represent indigent Defendants in criminal cases and bill for their time to the federal court at CJA set rates. The United States District Court for Colorado also has a Habeas Corpus Panel and a Death Penalty panel that appoints CJA approved attorneys for representation in these two types of cases. Applications for membership on the panels are available in the office of the Clerk of the Court.

The Alternate Defense Counsel (ADC) in Colorado is part of the state of Colorado judicial system that appoints attorneys for indigent Defendants in trial and appellate matters. Defendants are appointed representation through ADC when the Public Defender’s office has determined there is a conflict of interest in their representation of a defendant. ADC approved attorneys are paid an hourly rate established by the state of Colorado. To apply to become an ADC attorney, one must first be a member of the Colorado State Bar Association. Then, attorneys must download the New Attorney Application Form from ADC’s website and then their final appointing authority will evaluate the application to determine if there are any openings in the geographic locale or areas of criminal law in which you specialize.

Written By Kimberley Dickey, Law Librarian Fellow