[Senate Report 110-432]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 900
110th Congress
SENATE
Report
2d Session 110-432
======================================================================
TO AMEND TITLE 11, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICIAL CODE, TO IMPLEMENT THE
INCREASE PROVIDED UNDER THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
2008, IN THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE COMPENSATION OF
ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING INDIGENT DEFENDANTS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
COURTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
H.R. 5551
TO AMEND TITLE 11, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICIAL CODE, TO IMPLEMENT THE
INCREASE PROVIDED UNDER THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
2008, IN THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE COMPENSATION OF
ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING INDIGENT DEFENDANTS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
COURTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
July 25, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TED STEVENS, Alaska
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
BARACK OBAMA, Illinois PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri JOHN WARNER, Virginia
JON TESTER, Montana JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
Beth M. Grossman, Senior Counsel
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Amanda Wood, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose & Summary................................................1
II. Background.......................................................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................2
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation....................................3
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law..........................................4
Calendar No. 900
110th Congress
SENATE
Report
2d Session 110-432
======================================================================
TO AMEND TITLE 11, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICIAL CODE, TO IMPLEMENT THE
INCREASE PROVIDED UNDER THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
2008, IN THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE COMPENSATION OF
ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING INDIGENT DEFENDANTS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
COURTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
July 25, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5551]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 5551) to amend
title 11, District of Columbia Official Code, to implement the
increase provided under the District of Columbia Appropriations
Act, 2008, in the amount of funds made available for the
compensation of attorneys representing indigent defendants in
the District of Columbia courts, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
I. Purpose & Summary
The purpose of H.R. 5551 is to raise the hourly
compensation for private attorneys appointed to represent
indigent criminal defendants in the D.C. Superior Court and the
D.C. Court of Appeals from $65 per hour to $80 per hour, and
increase the maximum total compensation such attorneys can
receive for each case. In the District of Columbia
Appropriations Act, 2008, Congress provided funding to support
this increase in compensation. H.R. 5551 would authorize this
already appropriated money to be spent for the intended
purposes, by amending the District of Columbia Code to raise
the compensation amounts provided for in law.
II. Background
The District of Columbia Criminal Justice Act\1\ (CJA)
provides for the appointment and payment of attorneys to
represent criminal defendants in the District of Columbia
courts. Currently, attorneys so appointed are compensated at
the rate of $65 per hour, a pay rate last increased in 2002.\2\
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\1\D.C. Code Sec. 11-2601 et seq.
\2\D.C. Code Sec. 11-2604(a); District of Columbia Appropriations
Act, 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-96, 115 Stat. 923. The $65 rate set in 2002
represented a $15 per hour increase from the previous rate of $50 per
hour.
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The Committee believes that an increase in the compensation
for attorneys appointed under the CJA to $80 per hour is
appropriate and warranted. The increase is roughly commensurate
with inflation during this time period. Moreover, attorneys
appointed to represent indigent defendants in similar matters
in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia are
presently paid $100 per hour.\3\ Without at least a reduction
in the disparity in pay between the Federal and District of
Columbia systems, the D.C. Courts would likely have greater
difficulty in obtaining competent attorneys to represent
indigent criminal defendants. The bill would also change the
maximum payments CJA attorneys can receive for each case to be
the same as the maximum payments for court-appointed attorneys
appearing in federal court.\4\
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\3\ See Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-161,
Division D, Title III, 121 Stat. 1986, 1987 (2007) (enacted as part of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008) (providing funding
sufficient to support the $100 per hour rate). The federal Criminal
Justice Act authorizes the Judicial Conference of the United States to
raise the maximum rates for attorney compensation based on cost-of-
living adjustments for federal General Schedule employees, subject, of
course, to Congressional appropriations. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3006A(d)(1).
\4\ See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3006A(d)(2).
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Funds to support this increased compensation have already
been appropriated through the District of Columbia
Appropriations Act, 2008.\5\ H.R. 5551 makes the corresponding
changes to the District of Columbia Code necessary to implement
the new compensation rates.
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\5\Pub. L. No. 110-161, Division D, Title IV, 121 Stat. 1990, 1992
(2007) (enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008).
Congress appropriated $47,975,000, to remain available until expended,
for compensation of CJA attorneys, attorneys who participate in the
Counsel for Child Abuse and Neglect (CCAN) program, and guardianship
attorneys.
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III. Legislative History
The legislation was introduced in the House of
Representatives as H.R. 5551 by Mr. Davis of Illinois and Ms.
Norton on March 6, 2008, and was passed by the House of
Representatives on April 1, 2008. The bill was received by the
Senate and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs on April 2, 2008. On April 10, 2008, the
Committee considered H.R. 5551 and ordered the bill reported
favorably by voice vote without amendment. Members present were
Lieberman, Levin, Akaka, Carper, Landrieu, McCaskill, Tester,
Collins, Voinovich, and Sununu.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1(a) amends subsection 11-2604(a) of the District
of Columbia Code to raise the rate of compensation for
attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants in the
District of Columbia courts from $65 per hour to $80 per hour.
Section 1(b) also amends subsection 11-2604(b) of the
District of Columbia Code to make the maximum amount of
compensation that such attorneys can receive for handling
misdemeanor, felony, appellate and post-trial matters in the
Superior Court of the District of Columbia or the District of
Columbia Court of Appeals equal to the maximum amount of
compensation allowed for attorneys appointed to represent
defendants in United States courts.
Section 2 of the bill provides that the amendments made by
the bill shall apply to cases initiated on or after the date of
enactment of the bill.
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation
April 14, 2008.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman,
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5551, an act to
amend title 11, District of Columbia Official Code, to
implement the increase provided under the District of Columbia
Appropriations Act, 2008, in the amount of funds made available
for the compensation of attorneys representing indigent
defendants in the District of Columbia courts, and for other
purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag.
Enclosure.
H.R. 5551--An act to amend title 11, District of Columbia Official
Code, to implement the increase provided under the District of
Columbia Appropriations Act, 2008, in the amount of funds made
available for the compensation of attorneys representing
indigent defendants in the District of Columbia courts, and for
other purposes
H.R. 5551 would amend the District of Columbia Code to
increase--from $65 per hour to $80 per hour--the rate of pay
for attorneys representing indigent defendants in the District
of Columbia courts. Under current law, the budget of the
District of Columbia courts system, including Defender
Services, is funded by federal appropriations, and its
expenditures are recorded on the federal budget. Based on
information from the courts, CBO estimates that increasing pay
for attorneys would cost about $7 million in 2009 and $35
million over the 2009-2013 period, subject to the appropriation
of the necessary amounts. Enacting the legislation would not
affect direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 5551 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
On March 24, 2008, CBO provided a cost estimate for H.R.
5551, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform on March 13, 2008. The two versions of
the legislation are identical, as are their estimated costs.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. CBO states that
there are no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no costs on
state, local, or tribal governments. The legislation contains
no other regulatory impact.
VII. Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic and existing law, in which no
change is proposed, is shown in roman):
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE
TITLE 11, ORGANIZATION AND JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS
CHAPTER 26. REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENTS IN CRIMINAL CASES
11-2604. PAYMENT FOR REPRESENTATION
(a) Any attorney appointed pursuant to this chapter shall,
at the conclusion of the representation or any segment thereof,
be compensated at a fixed rate of $[65] 80 per hour. Such
attorney shall be reimbursed for expenses reasonably incurred.
[(b) For representation of a defendant before the Superior
Court or before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, as
the case may be, the compensation to be paid to an attorney
shall not exceed the following maximum amounts:
[(1) $1900 for misdemeanor cases;
[(2) $3600 for felony cases; and
[(3) $1900 for post-trial matters if the underlying
case was a misdemeanor or $3600 for post-trial matters
if the underlying case was a felony.]
(b) The compensation to be paid to an attorney appointed
pursuant to this chapter shall not exceed the following maximum
amounts:
(1) For representation of a defendant before the
Superior Court of the District of Columbia for
misdemeanors or felonies, the maximum amount set forth
in section 3006A(d)(2) of title 18, United States Code,
for representation of a defendant before the United
States magistrate judge or the district court for
misdemeanors or felonies (as the case may be).
(2) For representation of a defendant before the
District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the maximum
amount set forth in section 3006A(d)(2) of title 18,
United States Code, for representation of a defendant
in an appellate court.
(3) For representation of a defendant in post-trial
matters for misdemeanors or felonies, the amount
applicable under paragraph (1) for misdemeanors or
felonies (as the case may be).