Austin Division CJA Information

Divisional CJA Panel Committee

Panel Information

  • Membership Qualifications and Categories

  • Based on the recommendation of the Austin Divisional CJA Panel Committee, attorneys are placed in one or more of the panel categories listed below:

  • Trial Category

    Attorneys on this panel will handle any matters that take place in the district court, the vast majority of which will be new felony cases, but could also include representing defendants on supervised release revocation proceedings, out-of-district arrest proceedings (i.e. identity and detention hearings), and representing material witnesses.

    Minimum qualifications:

    • An active member in good standing of at least one state bar.

    • Admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas at the time of application;

    • Have an office in the Austin Division. The Committee may waive this requirement in its discretion, and in doing so will consider factors such as proximity to the Courthouse (e.g., New Braunfels is in the San Antonio Division, but is closer to the Austin Courthouse than many towns in the Austin Division); and an attorney’s willingness to waive travel time and costs for additional travel required by the attorney’s location. Out-of-division attorneys applying for Panel membership should address the issue in their application.

    • At least five years experience as a practicing lawyer or at least two years practicing as an Assistant Federal Public Defender or Assistant United States Attorney;

    • Five felony jury trials as lead or co-counsel.

    • In lieu of this minimum practice and trial experience, the committee may take into consideration other significant experience that adequately substitutes for the experience identified above. For instance, the committee may take into consideration:

      • substantial number of misdemeanor jury trials;
      • Federal district court judicial clerkship;
      • substantial federal criminal pretrial litigation;
      • substantial number of civil trials;
      • substantial number of dispositive hearings, pleas or sentencings in state or federal court.

Appellate Category

Attorneys assigned to the appellate panel category will handle appeals to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals from final criminal judgments in the trial court.

Minimum qualifications:

  • An active member in good standing of at least one state bar;

  • Admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals at the time of the application.

  • At least three years experience as a practicing lawyer or at least two years practicing as an Assistant Federal Public Defender or Assistant United States Attorney;

  • Five appeals in felony cases, including at least three federal appeals.

  • In lieu of this minimum appellate experience, the committee may take into consideration other significant experience that adequately substitutes for the experience identified above. For instance, the committee may take into consideration:

    1. Federal circuit court judicial clerkship;
    2. substantial number of state appeals;
    3. substantial number of federal civil appeals.

Applying for Panel Membership

  • Initial Application for Austin Division

    To apply to be a member of Austin CJA Panel please send the following as directed:

    Email all materials to: Clerk, CJA Panel Committee at TXWD_Austin_CJAPanel@txwd.uscourts.gov
    If you have any further questions, please email questions to TXWD_Austin_CJAPanel@txwd.uscourts.gov or contact Samantha Oakes at 512-391-8702.
    The deadline for submission of applications is the 1st of every month.
  • Panel Selection Process

    Upon receipt of all applications, the Austin Divisional Panel Committee will review the applications, and will select panel members within 30 to 45 days of the application deadline. Though it will not occur with every applicant, the committee may choose to schedule interviews with an applicant at its discretion. Applicants will receive a letter from the district judges notifying them of the action taken on their application.

Grievance Procedures and Voucher Appeals

The Austin Division follows the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Amended Criminal Justice Act Plan, including with respect to any disciplinary matters and removal of attorneys from the CJA Panel. For more detail, please see the Criminal Justice Act Plan, Western District of Texas (2018) at Section IX. C.7 (pp. 17-20).

Likewise, the Austin Division follows the Plan with regard to the review of vouchers and any issues related to the reduction of a voucher submitted by a panel member. For more detail, please see the Criminal Justice Act Plan, Western District of Texas (2018) at Section XII. A-B. (pp. 23-24).