UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

District of Utah

MEMORANDUM TO COURT-APPOINTED CJA ATTORNEYS
June 15, 1999

The District of Utah is implementing a new automated CJA Panel Attorney Payment System (CJAPAPS) application developed for the federal trial courts. CJAPAPS includes new voucher payment forms that are printed directly from a PC with case-specific appointment data.

As with new systems in general, several procedures have changed and others need to be reinforced. This memorandum details the procedural changes that affect CJA panel attorneys, CJA experts, and CJA investigators. This new program also includes detailed instructions on using the court's government Travel Account for making airline reservations and purchasing airline tickets for authorized CJA-related travel.

Voucher Forms:

Revised CJA forms 20 (attorneys), 21 (experts and other services), 24 (transcripts), 30 (death penalty attorneys), and 31 (death penalty experts and other services) are all generated through CJAPAPS. Changes to these forms include:

  1. Removal of attorney's payee information from the CJA form 20 to eliminate accidental disclosure (social security and tax i.d. numbers will be maintained separately within the payment program for tax reporting purposes);
  2. Inclusion of additional data elements such as number of defendants, case disposition, and appointment termination date if other than case completion;
  3. Physical realignment of information to provide pre-judicial review and judicial review work space;

Samples of these new forms are attached for your information. All new vouchers will be generated using this new form. Any existing work in progress may be submitted with the old form.

Billable Hours:

To process payments, CJAPAPS requires entry of attorney hours by the categories listed on the CJA forms to be rounded to tenths of hours.Thus, all CJA vouchers (CJA 20,21,30, and 31's) submitted to the court now must list hours by category in tenths of hours
(e.g., 42 minutes = 0.7 hours; 20 minutes = 0.3 hours not 0.33 hours).

Worksheets:

Supporting worksheets with itemized descriptions of work performed subtotaled by category must be attached to the voucher. Category subtotals on the worksheets need to be transferred over to the face of the voucher. These worksheets have been updated to reflect the categories on the new voucher forms. Samples of the updated worksheets are attached.
Please note that vouchers that are not in compliance will be returned for correction.

Period of Service:

CJAPAPS also requires the period of service to be completed in box 19 on the voucher form. The beginning and ending dates of service should be stated in specific days, not in months.
(e.g. from 4/1/99 to 5/25/99).

Payment:

CJA 24 forms, Authorization and Voucher for Payment of Transcripts will now be paid through CJAPAPS in the same manner as other CJA vouchers and not by the clerk's office.

Government Airline Travel:

We have established a Government Travel Account (GTA) for use by CJA court-appointed attorneys, experts, and investigators. This GTA account allows authorized CJA attorneys and experts to (1) obtain discounted government airfare on official CJA business trips, and (2) charge authorized airline tickets to a government credit card; such charges then are paid by the court rather than by the authorized traveler. Travel related to CJA representation may be arranged by adhering to the following procedures:

  1. A written Travel Authorization must be issued on court letterhead (signed by the presiding judicial officer) for each trip, a copy of which must be carried during the authorized travel for identification and presentation should an airline agent ask to see it. The traveling attorney/expert/investigator should contact Mike Duncan or Gary Serdar in the clerk's office to obtain the appropriate Travel Authorization. If confidentiality is a factor, travel requests may be submitted to the court ex parte, heard in camera, and placed under seal. Information concerning the purposes of the trip in cases requiring confidentiality may be non-specific. A sample Travel Authorization is included as an attachment.
  2. After obtaining a Travel Authorization, the attorney or expert may call National Travel Service (NTS) at 1-800-445-0668, and request tickets. The traveler should advise NTS of his/her status as a CJA panel attorney, expert, or investigator providing CJA representation or related service, and is required to provide NTS with the following "identifiers," which will be indicated on the Travel Authorization:

The traveler should instruct NTS where to send the tickets. If necessary, tickets may be pre-paid by NTS for pick-up at the airport counter.

Because the Travel Authorization is an official government document, it should enable the traveler to obtain official government rates at hotels as well. NTS is a full-service travel agency and can provide assistance with hotel reservations.

Post-travel Documentation

A copy of the (i) Travel Authoriztion, (ii) court order allowing out-of-district travel, and (iii) airline ticket passenger receipt card, must be sent to court's financial administrator promptly following completion of your travel. A second copy of the Travel Authorization, court order, and airline ticket passenger receipt card must be attached to your voucher for audit purposes.

If you have any questions, please call either Mike Duncan at 524-6109 or Gary Serdar at 524-6107.

Signed by Markus B. Zimmer
Clerk of Court

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