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Paying Attorneys of Indigent Defendants in the District of Columbia

Floor Speech

Date: April 1, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Judicial Branch

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I stand with my colleague, Congresswoman ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON from our Nation's Capital, the District of Columbia, in consideration of H.R. 5551, which will provide for a much-needed increase in the compensation paid to attorneys assigned to represent indigent clients in the D.C. court system.

Congresswoman Norton and I introduced this measure on March 6, 2008. On March 11, 2008, the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia held a hearing to examine aspects of the legislation, and on March 13, 2008, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform considered and passed the bill out of committee by voice vote.

H.R. 5551 calls for an increase in the hourly pay rate from $65 to $80 for Criminal Adjusters Act, CJA attorneys, representing indigent defendants in the D.C. courts. The measure would also increase the caps on the total compensation paid to these attorneys per case type to be equal to the total compensation paid to attorneys representing similar clients in Federal Court.

The increased compensation rate for CJA attorneys practicing in D.C. courts would only apply to cases that proceeded or initiated on or after the date of enactment of the Act.

Mr. Speaker, a core element of our unique democracy is the right and requirement that every citizen, regardless of income or socioeconomic class, be afforded adequate counsel or representation when confronting judicial proceedings. In fact, one of the most important decisions in this area of law was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1942, when it held that the Sixth Amendment required the government afford indigent defendants with competent counsel. The measure we have before us further reiterates this fundamental concept by helping to ensure that the D.C. court system is in a competitive position to attract the best and brightest lawyers to represent the indigent. And so, Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 5551.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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