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Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Information and Announcements

Pursuant to its Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Plan, on June 1, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri approved CJA Panels of attorneys to accept appointments in criminal cases.  Three Panels were created, one each for the Western/St. Joseph, Central and Southern/Southwestern Divisions.   The terms of the initial CJA Panel members were staggered over three years.  One-third of each Panel was randomly selected to serve for one year; one-third of each Panel was randomly selected to serve for two years; and one-third of each Panel was randomly selected to serve for three years.  All future appointments will be for three years. 

Beginning February 5, 2024, the Court will accept new CJA applications as well as renewal applications from those CJA members whose terms expire on May 31, 2024. The application also includes the opportunity to apply for a mentorship program. The mentorship program, developed by the Federal Public Defender’s office, provides training to attorneys who do not have the requisite experience to qualify for membership on the regular panel. The deadline for application submissions is Monday, March 4, 2024.

The Court has implemented the CJA eVoucher program for electronic submission of CJA Vouchers.  In the Attorney Materials section are several documents to introduce you to the eVoucher System.

Panel Attorney Data Form & W-9 (Forms & Procedures)

To update panel attorney information on file (e.g., address change, firm change, name change, TIN change) counsel should complete, sign and date a Panel Attorney Data Form AND W-9. The forms should be emailed to evoucher@mow.uscourts.gov

National CJA Voucher Reference Tool

The purpose of the on-line Reference Tool is to provide quick access to the policies and procedures related to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) cases, beginning with the appointment of panel attorneys and continuing through the processing of vouchers to the approval of payment for services rendered. 

CJA eVoucher Information, Procedures and Attorney User Manual

The Missouri Western eVoucher link is: https://evsdweb.ev.uscourts.gov/CJA_mow_prod/CJAeVoucher/

NOTE: If you do not see the login boxes when using the link to sign into eVoucher you may need to Set Compatibility View in your Internet Explorer browser.

Travel Guidelines

For more information contact:

Barbara Scott
CJA Administrator
816-512-5066

Shazzie Naseem
CJA Panel Representative
816-627-0264
snaseem@berkowitzoliver.com

Jane Francis
CJA Panel Representative
816-436-3100, ext. 211
jane@francislawofficellc.com

Laine Cardarella
Federal Defender
816-471-8282
laine_cardarella@fd.org