Washington, DC (Sep. 25, 2025) – A report from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) highlights the wide-reaching impact of Criminal Justice Act (CJA) payment delays. Featuring stories from impacted Panel members, the report presents data on the profound effects of payment suspension on cases, clients, and courts.
Federal districts rely on private lawyers who accept court appointments as members of their district’s CJA Panel, yet on July 3, the government ran out of money to pay CJA Panel members for their work. Congress’s decision earlier this year to approve an FY25 spending bill that froze funding for the judicial branch at 2024 levels meant that hundreds of lawyers, investigators, social workers, paralegals, experts, and interpreters appointed by the court to federal criminal cases would not get paid for the work they had done.
NACDL reached out to Panel members across the country with a survey to share their experiences and received responses from more than 130 attorneys, paralegals, investigators, and other professionals representing every federal circuit and nearly every state. They expressed fear about making ends meet in their offices and homes and concern that they may not be able to do this work in the future.
“These stories confirm that payment suspensions are having a dire effect on defenders and the clients they serve,” said NACDL President Andrew Birrell. “CJA Panel work is largely handled by small firms and solo practitioners – 98% of survey respondent firms had five employees or less. Without the funds they are owed, this work is unsustainable. Panel attorneys are forced to lay off staff, forgo essential case resources such as investigators and experts, and even stop taking CJA cases altogether. As a result, the accused will be deprived of a complete defense, court backlogs will grow, and closure for victims will be delayed. These effects will cascade throughout the criminal legal system. We call on Congress to fully fund public defense. We cannot afford further delays.”
NACDL Executive Director Lisa Wayne stated, "As highlighted in this report, payment suspensions are not minor inconveniences—they have significant adverse effects on small firms engaged in this essential work. CJA Panel members, their teams, and most importantly their clients, deserve fair treatment. It is imperative that CJA Panel members receive the compensation to which they are entitled."
Contacts
Jessie Diamond, Deputy Director, Public Affairs and Communications, (202) 465-7647 or jdiamond@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
